When Worlds Collide
by gue22
Summary: Chichi had to learn the hard way that the purest heart in the universe does not always make the best husband material. After all these years, when fate plays a cruel hand, is there hope for them?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Dbz

Chapter 1

Son Residence - 3 hours after the defeat of Majin Buu

Goku sat, eyeing his wife from beneath hooded lids, whilst making a great show of listening to every single thing his excited seven year old son was reciting from atop his lap. It's not that he wasn't interested in Goten's rapid banter - he was. Kami, he had missed seven full years of his life, he wanted to know everything there was to know about his new found son. It's just that he couldn't shake this horrible feeling that something wasn't right with Chichi. She had simply been…disconnected and quiet.

Shifting the excited seven year old in his lap, he turned him around so he could get a better view of his wife. Goten didn't even notice, he was talking non stop, trying to relate every single one of his and Trunk's adventures to his recently resurrected father. Below hooded eyes, Goku watched as Chichi furiously scrubbed away at the same pot for over half an hour. He frowned at her ferocity and permanent scowl.

They had come home at the end of the little get together that had taken place straight after Goku and Vegeta's arrival at the Lookout, to a mountain of Goku's favourite dishes piled up on all the surfaces of the house. He had felt a little reassured then, surely if Chichi had gone out of her way to prepare so much of his favourite foods, things couldn't have possibly been as bad as he had previously thought - but as dinner progressed, with Chichi simply staring blankly at her food, twirling it around her plate without so much as a word to _anyone, _Goku had began to worry all over again.

Thinking back on the events of the day, he tried hard to pin-point even just one moment, just one, where his wife appeared to have been happy to see him. But alas, she had carried that same blank expression around the entire time, as if none of the dramatic events that the day had had to offer had affected her at all. Well..._almost_ the entire time. There was that one time that he had dared to approach her at the Lookout after teleporting everyone there to tell them of Vegeta and Gohan's demise at the hands of Majin Buu.

When he had announced that Vegeta and Gohan had died, he had been especially dreading Chichi's reaction. To his shock though, only Bulma had shown any signs of grief. Chichi had simply turned away. No fainting, no screaming, no crying, nothing at all. Fearing that she had gone into some kind of fatal shock, he had meandered his way towards her and tried to comfort her by placing his hands on her shoulders - big mistake. Like a wild cat, eyes blazing in a fury like none he had ever seen, she had lashed out and _attacked _him, clawing at his eyes with her nails, biting and actually succeeding in taking a few chunks out of his skin with her teeth! She went completely nuts!

It had taken Krillin and Yamcha's combined strength to subdue her, not that they had walked away from the incident unscathed. If he hadn't been so horribly, horribly paralyzed in fear and shock, he would have been so proud of how she had kicked both their asses several times over before they had managed to subdue her. Once they had her immobilized however, she had suddenly gone back to that blank expression, as if the whole incident hadn't happened at all.

After demonstrating SSJ3 to the boys during their Fusion training, he had desperately wanted a moment alone with her to talk before Baba made her appearance to transport him back. In fact, thinking about it now, he had been trying to orchestrate a private moment to talk the whole day, but somehow, she always stayed well out of reach. When he had first noticed Goten, she had left it up to Gohan to introduce his brother to him, he hadn't thought much about that until much later at the Kai planet whilst waiting for Gohan to finish his training.

He had thought a lot about the days events then, and had realized with horrific clarity that apart from screaming "Don't touch me! Don't you dare touch me!" whilst attacking him, she had not directed a single word in his direction the entire day. And finally, when the battle was won, the earth restored and the universe once again at peace - he had hoped that his news of being given back life, of coming home for good, would crack through that blank façade and earn him a smile, a hug, a kiss, a look, anything…but she didn't even react, she just stood there, watching, completely unaffected like some kind of damned statue…it was down right…unnerving…for the first time in his life he wanted to scream at her, shake her, force her to acknowledge him. But in the end, he had just done what he always did, he had smiled and cheered and shared stories, playing 'catch-up' until it was time to come home. Which is why, he had been so shocked when he had walked in through the door, only to be greeted by a huge 'Welcome Home' banner and tables and tables full of his favourite food.

He had allowed himself some false hope once again, but now…now…as he continued to watch her antics with that damn pot, sweet Kai's above, the thing must be ready to crumble from all that ferocious scrubbing! He just knew that his hopes that all was well, his hopes that they could pick-up where they had left off seven years back, had been in vain, it was alarmingly clear to him that something was terribly, terribly wrong between them.

Noticing that Goten was practically telling the rest of his stories with heavily sleep induced murmurs, he sent a pleading look to Gohan, who had spent the last hour or so of Goten's banter deep in his own thoughts. With a quiet nod to his father, Gohan scooped up his brother and began to walk him to their room. As he passed his mother, he stopped and whispered a conspiratorial 'I think it's clean now' before disappearing around the corner towards the bedrooms. Goku watched his wife take pause at Gohan's words. Without a second thought she dropped the pan back in the sink, offered a genuine smile towards the two disappearing boys and wordlessly followed behind Gohan. With a heavy sigh, he leaned back against the couch and contemplated his next move.

Disappearing around the corner in the direction of her bedroom, Chichi still had the same mantra going on and on in her mind. Though there were slight variations from time to time, over all it went something like this: _damn that dragon, damn that dragon, damn that meddling, infuriating, insufferable, incompetent poor excuse for a dragon! Damn him, damn him straight to dragon hell if there's such a thing. Curse him, blast him, Oh Kami, DAMN THAT stupid, stupid, oversized, steroid taking DRAGON! Damn that dragon, DAMN THAT DRAGON! _She continued in this fashion until she was safely behind her bedroom door.

With a soft click, she closed the door and leaned against it. Sliding down the length of the door with her back she allowed her body to flop unceremoniously to the ground and took a few deep breaths. _I survived it _she sighed. There had been moments, oh yes, there had been moments when she had felt her resolve crumbling. Oh who was she kidding? She _had _crumbled. She had been doing so well, so well indeed until _he _had dared to lay his filthy hands on her. She hadn't meant to, _it j_ust slipped out of its own volition, _it_ slipped out and took over. She wasn't in control then, it was _it. _The thirty-five year old pent-up fury.

She still couldn't believe that all of this was happening.

Just yesterday, just yesterday she had been a ninety year old woman, bitterly going about her business. She knew her time was near, and frankly she was glad for it. She was glad to be leaving this wicked, ungrateful world. She welcomed death like a drowning man welcomed breath. She'd had only had one piece of unfinished business to take care of before her time was up, but that had backfired, oh how it had backfired on her.

When Goku had first come back to life after those seven years, all those many, many decades back, oh it had been so sweet, those years following his return were amongst the happiest in her life, even more so than the blissful five years they had spent together as a family before all this nonsense of aliens and super-saiyans had began. It had been the biggest shock of her life when after a blissful ten years, he had suddenly up and left JUST. LIKE. THAT in the middle of the tournament, carrying that blasted Uub on his back.

She had been upset of course, but this was Goku, she had reasoned with herself, and his spontaneity _was _one of the things she loved most about him. She had NOT been expecting him to disappear for TEN. BLASTED. YEARS! She had been expecting him back home after a few months, a tight lipped lecture on her part, some shamefaced grovelling on his, and they'd pick up where they left off. Pah! As if! When he _did _come back, he was in a pint sized body of a ten year old and he wasn't even motivated to wish himself back to normal!

In retrospect, they had done the most fighting during that terrible, turbulent time. She couldn't take seeing him like that, on top of the fact that she was still furious for being abandoned for as long as she had. His trip into space with Pan and Trunks had given her some room to breathe, some time to calm down and actually look forward to having her husband back and finally settle down with her, the two of them growing old and grey together, like she had always envisioned.

Pah! It never happened of course. Goku had found more trouble in space, trouble that had followed him home in the form of that egg-laying abomination called Baby. A whole series of battles and destrution had follwed, naturally. After all the dust was settled from that incident, she had _again_, been looking forward to finally having him back home, even if it was in the body of a little kid. She had been patient for so many years, missing and longing for him that she had decided not to waste the rest of their years bitching about his size. She figured he could always transform into that hairy adult version of himself if the situation really called for it. She didnt really care _how_ he came back to her, she just wanted her Goku back. But oh no, that was not to be either, he had simply taken off on the back of Shenron, never to be seen again.

Like a fool, she had _again _believed with all of her foolish heart that this last stint was just a trip, one final adventure for rest and recuperation. She fully believed that he'd be able to get his body back to its rightful size and that a few months the ordeal would be over and they'd all be a family again. But as the months stretched into years and years became decades, she began to realise the ugly truth. Goku was gone. He was gone, and he was never coming back. Well, at least not in her lifetime anyway.

She couldn't wrap her mind around it. She couldn't accept it. She would sit outside their home in Mt. Paouzu all day, every day for weeks just staring out into the horizon, willing, hoping, praying, imagining that her husband would finally come back to her. She didn't want to let herself believe that the man she had loved with such abandon, could be so cruel, so callous, so selfish as to actually _do _this to her. She had lost her joy for life, her children and grandchildren had done their best to try to fill her emptying soul, but no amount of grandchildren or great-grandchildren for that matter, was ever able to fill the black hole developing in her heart.

In his old age, Yamcha had always remained optimistic that Goku would just appear out of nowhere one day, and give their collective old age some meaning and excitement, he had been even more worse off than her, he had never settled down, not really. Bulma had really broken him when she left him for Vegeta, he had given up fighting and pursed a random life of sport, loose women and pleasure. They had formed an odd friendship in those last days, both of them clinging to the hope that Goku would return and shed some light to their pointless existence. But then one day, his heart had given out and just like that, he had died and the little faith she had been holding onto, died with him.

She had finally snapped.

She didn't remember exactly what became of her during those dark days, but seemingly she had lost her mind, she would mistake Goten for Goku, and depending on her mood she would either try to verbal lash him to death or even worse for Goten, try to love him to death, either way the poor boy had been traumatized. That dark period took a toll on her children, they had never been the same. Goten was never the same happy go lucky man he'd been, and his new demeanour took a toll on his own marriage. When she had finally come out of her insane stupor, she had finally given up on ever seeing her husband again.

She had simply withered…she aged rapidly, and as her body began to take the final descents into old age, her soul, her once pure and shimmering soul, took on a different path, it darkened, blackened, hardened, and for the first time in her life she knew what it was to truly hate. She would find herself imagining all the ways she could make Son Goku's life miserable in the after life. But even that revenge would have to be postponed for Kami knew how long. The man would probably live forever just to spite her. Just to deny her the satisfaction of facing up to his crimes, the atrocious crimes that he'd committed against his family. So she had cooked up one last ditch effort to have her say, to get one last little jab at him before she died, she had made the children take her to New-Namek.

Her one wish: To give Son Goku the biggest verbal lashing of his life, to tell him just how much she hated him, just how much he had destroyed her, just how much he had failed in being a husband, a father and a friend. She had wanted Porunga to open up some kind of communication portal so she could communicate with her husband in whichever planet, plane, or realm he happened to be in. To have her say before her death, and Kai's willing, maybe an opportunity to spit her contempt in his face.

But that stupid dragon, that stupid, incompetent, poor excuse for a dragon had dared to say that it was _not_ within its power to reach Son Goku.

He had dared to say that he could not grant her wish. He, who had restored the earth back into orbit, he who had resurrected billions and billions of lives that had fallen at the hands of Buu. He who had been as mighty as to do all of that with just the glow of his monstrous dragon eyes, could not, _would_ not grant her one tiny, infinitesimal wish. She had realised then that the whole universe always had, and always would side with that abomination of a man over her. She had realised then that even in death, even in the after life, she would never be granted her justice, she would just have to suck it up, like she had always had to, only this time it would stretch for years, and decades and centuries, to infinity and beyond.

True hopelessness had enveloped her then, she was to have nothing, nothing at all, and really, truly what was the point of existing at all, if one couldn't even have the hope, the hope that one day she would get her dues.

In a fit of rage and fury that had taken her children by complete surprise, especially considering her frail and decrepit ninety year olf form, she had tossed her walking stick aside and picked up rocks and sand - she had thrown them vindictively at the dragon, wanting to hurt it, crying - no wailing unrepeatable insults at it, especially as the stones fell harmlessly a ways away, not even getting near the colossal being. Her heart had already been cracked and bruised by Goku's inconsiderate treatment years ago, toppled up with old age in itself, it had not been in the best condition, within seconds of her failed attempt to communicate with Goku, her failed attempt to cause grievous bodily harm to the abominable dragon that was clearly siding with him, each part of her cracked heart gave in, pieces began to chip off slowly, and by the end of her pathetic excuse for a tantrum, it had finally given out, shattering into a thousand weightless specs, scattered, all over that accursed New Namek.

With no fight left in her, she had given into death, and with her last breath, she had unknowingly muttered the words that would bring her to this unacceptable reality she had woken up to this morning.

"_I wish I'd done it differently when he came back after those seven years"_ she wasn't even sure if she had said it out loud, it was just a fleeting regret, a useless mumble, a random ramble from a decrepit old woman. And for all his talk of not having the power to grant her real wish, the one she had wanted with all her heart, Porunga, that meddling scum had decided to take her literally, and when she came to this morning, hoping to finally be in otherworld, hoping to finally be reunited with her mother and her father once again, the only two people who had truly loved her, apart from her children, she had woken up instead, very much alive, back in the land of the living, back on earth, back on Mount Pazou, back in her own bed, back in her youthful body, back to that accursed day of the world martial arts tournament, back to relive this cursed life all over again when she had been so close, so close to eternal peace.

And so here she sat, her bum firmly on the floor, her back against the wooden door, unsure, uncertain of 'how' she was supposed to deal with this reversal of time. How was she supposed to re-live, re-do, all that had already happened. Any little thing she could have changed, might have altered the course of the future for the worst. It was not her right to interfere with the destinies of others, it was not her place.

She might have told them all about the outcome of Videl's fight with that over-sized brute Spopo-whatever, but that could have changed things in a way she could not have predicted. For all she knew it might have created a different path for the Satan girl, a path that didn't end with her falling in-love with, and marrying her son. She might have told them about Majin Buu, about Vegeta and Goku's fight feeding the energy to release the monster, she might have told them that Buu would absorb her sons and Piccolo, she might have warned them that Gotenks did not posses the maturity to be an effective warrior, at any time, _but_ she had let things play out as they had played out originally. Any change, any alteration may have changed things for the worst, so she had stayed put, like a zombie she had followed through with her role, distancing herself from the events of that day.

She had forced herself not to lash out at Goku when he had first arrived from otherworld. The bastard had disappeared for thirty-five years! Oh, it had taken everything she had and more to remain rooted to her spot. She had just told herself not to look at him, not to make eye contact with him. She had willed herself to be calm, to remember that though he was the same man who would go on to blacken her soul, lashing out at him would accomplish little, as he would not understand, he did not remember. As if that was any consolation. She had even marched up to Buu on the lookout to slap him, knowing she would be turned into an egg, knowing she would be crushed to death. _Again._

Yes, she had done her best to play the part of the thirty-something year old widow whose youthful body she was masquerading in. She could do nothing for her mind and her soul though, despite her smooth and youthful appearance, her strength and agility, she was still the same ninety year old woman who had been broken, who had longed only for the release of death. But when he had dared to lay his calloused hand on her shoulder, shortly after explaining that Gohan and Vegeta had been killed (she knew that Gohan was very much alive at that point - training hard for his own fruitless battle with Buu) she had lost all the restraints, decades upon decades of pent up fury had come flooding out, and well, let's just say, that Goku, Krillin and Yamcha got a small taste of the rage that she really would have liked to unleash upon the unsuspecting Saiyan.

The day was over and done with now, the dust had finally settled, and that 'man' would be coming up soon. She laughed a low, chilling, throaty laugh, when she recalled how eager she had been for him fifty-five years ago, when he had first come back from the dead after a seven year drought. All the promises he had made to her then, the same promises, no doubt, he was planning on making to her now. Hah! She still had no clue how she was going to handle this situation. Any dramatic changes and the future of her children, if not the future of the world, might be altered unfavourably, Trunks from the future had more than demonstrated that little bit about the butterfly effect. Gohan and Videl were due to get together soon, Goten was due to have the time of his life, getting to know his father. If she killed him in his sleep, or maimed him, or simply kicked him out, or anything else that didn't follow the original path, she might inadvertently change Gohan and Goten's paths. It might not be such a bad thing, if she could guarantee that the change would not be for the worst. But these were her children, she couldn't possibly forgive herself if she brought more sorrow to their lives.

She didn't want to admit it, but in those first ten years after coming back, Goku had been the perfect, doting father and husband. Videl had been attracted to Gohan, in-love with him actually, it had taken him some time to man up and grab what was offered by the spunky girl, in the interim, Videl had confessed to Chichi that many a time she had thought of giving up on him, but she had so desperately wanted what the Sons had - the solidarity and love she saw brimming from them, she had wanted that in her future. Especially since her own family had broken a long time ago. If she cracked that so called 'solidarity' that had appealed to Videl so strongly now, would it have a consequential effect on their relationship? She was still mulling over these decisions when she heard the footsteps on the wooden floor.

Goku was coming.

She sat, completely rigid, barely breathing from the tension that had suddenly invaded her body.

The footsteps were getting closer and closer.

She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. Damn it! She still didn't have a strategy!

The footsteps stopped right outside the door.

The restored muscles in her stomach tightened. Instinctively she pressed her back harder against the door, as if her body could really act as a barricade against the might of her husband!

The doorknob turned. A trickle of sweat dropped lightly from her forehead.

The small pressure being exerted from the other side of the door cracked the door only slightly ajar, because of the pressure her back was exerting back, instead of the door opening, the force and the momentum just nudged her forward a tad.

Her heart stopped.

Another small nudge increased the small opening and pushed her a bit further off.

Her veins glazed over.

"Chi?" is something blocking the door? Goku's voice permeated through the small space. She didn't know what to do, she wasn't ready to face him alone. She hated him so much, she might just butcher him to death! It wasn't fair that she couldn't lash out at him, call him on everything he had done. He didn't remember anything. No one did, everyone's memories had been wiped clean, their bodies restored to their previous youthful states, transported to the exact same places they had been all those years ago, trees and shrubs had sprouted were they had been replaced by construction, the living who had been too young had been unborn, their souls returning back to the land of the gods. Those who had already passed on resurrected, their bodies restored, their memories also wiped clean. Everything, and everyone had been reverted back, her own body as well, only her memories held the truth of how far along in the future things should really be. _Damn that dragon!_

"Chi?" He called out again, and she still didn't answer. She was about to press her body back against the door, effectively shutting him out, instead, her heart jumped out of her chest when she saw his form materializing right before her eyes, his fingers lightly touching his forehead.

Damn him and his accursed techniques!

...

_Review please!_


	2. Chapter 2

_**AN: **_

_**If there is still any confusion regarding chap 1, basically Porunga reversed time, Chichi didn't time travel, her youth was restored, as well as the 'youth' of everyone and everything else. The only difference between her and the rest of the universe, is that her memories were not erased.**_

_**Thank you so much for all your reviews, I was uncertain of how this concept might be received, now I'm just sweating coz I have a lot to live up to, lol, I hope this chapter does not disappoint.**_

**Disclaimer:** Dbz, Goku and Chichi belong to another, I own nothing.

Chapter 2

Goku watched as the surprise on her face at seeing him appear right before her eyes turn quickly to anger. The wife he remembered would have lashed out at him verbally for 'scaring her half to death' as she would always complain whenever he used IT in the house. This Chichi just sat there, her eyes practically scorching him raw with their smoulder. He had faced hate before, many an enemy had hated him for petty reasons, some for crazed reasons, he knew hate when he saw it. He had always faced it bravely, most times nonchalantly, he had always defeated the enemy in the end, so what did it matter, the intensity of their hatred for him? But this was different, this was his very own wife, one who had always looked upon him with such adoration. He couldn't exactly be nonchalant in the face of this hatred.

Many of his friends, post his brothers appearance, had only ever gotten to see the angry, overbearing side of Chichi, but as he had learned over the years, from when they had first come home as husband and wife, right to the very end, the day before the Cell games, Chichi was incredibly sweet on him, deliriously and deliciously so. It was alarming to look into the same eyes that had glazed over with love and practical hero-worship, now burning into him with a hate-filled intensity that far surpassed Vegetas in his earlier years.

His stomach turned to stone. He did not like this feeling.

His mouth twisted into a frown.

He squatted down, bringing his head level with her own. Why is she sitting on the floor, barricading the door?

He took a few whiffs around her. Hmm, she smelled the same.

He fisted her hair and roughly crushed her face against his. He kissed her hard, practically forcing his entry through her tightly clipped lips. Her eyes widened in shock, and then shrunk to angry slits. Hmm, she tasted the same.

He ignored the outward signs of the obvious fury brimming inside her, the slight quiver of her nose, the slight twitch of her upper lip - it all spelled rage. But he ignored it, he was still trying to authenticate her identity, so he reached out with his senses, slowly, carefully, he analyzed her ki. Yep, it was Chichi alright. Not an impostor, or some kind of double, a look-alike, a shape-shifter, a body snatcher, or any other deceitful being. It was her, his loving wife, now looking upon him, with hate filled fury, yet still managing to look achingly adorable, her lips slightly rosy, slightly swollen from his impromptu kiss. Perhaps he had kissed her harder than he's intended. It wasn't his fault, Chichi was fragile, he would have to watch his monstrous strength. His frown reversed itself into a smile, even as the palm of her hand connecting loudly with his cheek.

He kept smiling.

He had taken punches from Vegeta and Buu that very same day, he welcomed the slight tickle of Chichi's palm.

Straightening his knees, he rose to his full height, grabbing her and bringing her up with him by the shoulders. She flinched violently at his touch, trying to squirm away, but he ignored her protests and proceeded to crush her body fiercely against his. He felt her struggle against him as he buried his face at the crook of her neck, tightly locking her inside his embrace.

"I missed you" he murmured, taking in her delicious smells. She continued to struggle, though fruitlessly, come on Chi, he thought humorously, he was arguably the strongest being in the universe, he could hold his own wife in his arms if he wanted to. He didn't know why she was so mad, more than mad actually, furious, hateful, but Goku didn't let it bring him down, he had managed to sway some of his fiercest enemies, managed to melt the coldest hearts, he had a knack for making people 'make nice' with him in the end. Whatever this was, he wasn't too worried, he was very confident, if he could sway Yamcha, Tien, Piccolo and even Vegeta from their selfish paths of destruction over to the side of good, swaying his own wife should be a cinch.

He chuckled lightly to himself at her continued yet fruitless struggles, truth be told, they were having the opposite effect to the intended one. Instead of making him want to let her go, he found himself rather…aroused. Come on Chi, he thought as she continued to writhe and wriggle against him, his body had been effectively dead for seven years, those concerns didn't come up in otherworld, he still had to reacclimatize, re-adjust to his now very much alive body. It would take him a few days to reel in his self-control. He was still mulling on these issues when a sharp pain on his pectoral muscle brought him back to reality.

Instinctively he let her go. She practically bolted out of his embrace, backing up as far away from him as possible and proceeding to spit something on the floor. He noticed it then, rather alarmed that her mouth had gone from adorably rosy to red, blood red, and Kami, it wasn't just the colour, she was actually dripping something there! Eyes blazing, she used the back of her hand to wipe the blood off of her mouth - and only then did it click - only then did he steal a glace at the piece of flesh, _his_ flesh, that she had torn off like a wild animal with her bare teeth. He fingered the tender wound and flinched, what in the name? His eyes narrowed, this was the second time she had attacked him with her teeth in one day. In fact, on the lookout, she had done more than just bite him, she had clawed at him! He should have been furious with her for treating him so unjustly. But ultimately, all he felt was disappointingly hurt and confused. Perhaps it was time to stop being so confident, perhaps he should take this situation a bit more seriously.

His stomach twisted apprehensively, he realised that he hadn't felt this insecure around his wife since Raditz had come, killing him and exposing him as an alien. When Chichi hadn't embraced him right away after the battle with Vegeta, he had worried that she wouldn't want him anymore, what sane woman would want to stay married to an alien pirate, whose heritage was mass murder and genocide? Not to mention the knack of turning into giant apes!

"Why?" he croaked, his voice raw, heavily laced with emotion. "I know a lot must have happened in sev…"

"You. Gave. Me. Up!" she cut him off, poking his chest with her little finger in perfect rhythm with her words.

"Chi" he began

"Save it for someone who cares" she cut him off again, and marched purposefully to the bathroom, shutting the door firmly behind her.

Arg! She fumed, how dare he touch me? How dare he kiss me? She moved over to the wash basin and splashed some cold water on her face, rinsing off the remnants of his blood, but mainly just cooling herself off from her anger. _Calm down, calm down,_ she coaxed herself. She stared at her flawless reflection and flinched. No grey hair, no liver spots, no wrinkles! _Arg! This was insufferable, insufferable!_ Breathing in and out, she outstretched her arms and pinched the tips of her fingers in a meditative position. They had taught her this little trick when she had been committed, during that dark period when she had confused her son for her husband. In and out, in and out, she breathed, but for some reason, knowing that he was out there, waiting in her bedroom, argh, the technique just wasn't working!

She couldn't do this, she realised, just being in the same room with him…she was already behaving like some kind of crazed lunatic! She was not in the mood for his lies. Originally she had listened to him, believed him, rejoiced in his return after a long and lonely seven years, but a mere ten years later, he had dropped her like a hot potato. Leaving her with nothing but cold nights, while he played the hero in Uub's village. She was too old for this song and dance, too weary at heart, too tired. It had been a long, taxing day. Keeping up appearances was just exhausting.

She was already experiencing phantom aches and pains, yesterday her body was old and achy, in need of a walking stick to get by, every single move a chore, her body may have been revitalized today, but her mind was still lingering on yesterday, and in response, her body was aching tiredly like that of an old woman. She knew it was more psychological than physical, but she didn't care. She still didn't know how to handle this situation. She wanted Goku out of her sight, out of her life, but she couldn't do that just yet. She couldn't break the family apart at such a crucial time. Giving up on the breathing technique, she scowled at her youthful reflection and flipped the young woman looking back at her in the mirror the finger. Screw it! She needed sleep.

Goku's earlier confidence was shattered. This was uncharted territory. The Chichi he had left behind all those seven years ago, had thrived on arguments, she would talk him to death if she could. But this Chichi, he had seen it in her eyes, she was done talking to him. She was simply not interested in anything he had to say. How can that be? Sure, seven years was a long time to be gone, he realised that he had never actually said goodbye, never gave her much of a choice in his decision, hell, he had missed out on Goten's entire life, but…he was home now, he had just saved the universe, all he wanted was a chance to make-up for lost time. A chance to be a good husband and father. How was he supposed to get through to her, how was he supposed to win her over, if she didn't tell him what was wrong?

Truly, this was not the homecoming he had been hoping for.

She emerged in her underwear, some tendrils of hair slightly wet, the clothes she had been wearing crumpled carelessly on the bathroom floor. Goku did a double take, since when? Chichi would never leave clothes in a messy heap on the floor. She looked magnificent, he observed. Goten hadn't been hallucinating, the tell-tale signs were imprinted in every toned muscle on her body, Chichi really _had_ been training their youngest all these years. This was another concept that surprised him, though Chichi had loved martial arts when they had first gotten married, after Gohan was born, slowly but surely, she had begun to inch away from it.

The day Gohan was born, she had confessed her fear to him. She had confessed that she still had nightmares sometimes, of Piccolo blasting a hole in his chest, just as he had done during their battle at the martial arts tournament. She had held their new-born son and wept, begging him to promise to always protect their son and himself from Piccolo. That had been the first promise he was unable to see through. Just like in her nightmares, a mere four years later, Piccolo had blasted another hole in his chest, and then, he had kidnapped little Gohan. No matter the extenuating circumstances, it had been her biggest fear come to life.

So the fact that she had voluntarily, without coercion or reason, trained Goten, was astonishing. He couldn't stop his arousal as he continued to watch her parade around in her underwear, his throat felt very dry. She was rummaging through a cupboard, looking for something to wear, the tension in the air was as thick as a plank. Briefly he wondered how she would react if he kissed her senseless and made wild passionate love to her. He let that idea die as soon as it popped into his head, he was no genius, but his instincts had always been powerful, and something told him that if he so much as dared to touch her again without her consent, he may not survive the night. So instead he continued to watch silently, not having a clue, as to what else to do.

_Oh Chi, what could have possibly happened in these seven years to make you treat me like this? Is it because I let Gohan fight Cell? Because I died? Because I didn't come back? _

Instead of pulling out clothes, she pulled out bedding! Here we go, he thought dispiritedly, his heart constricting painfully in his chest. How can it hurt so much, just the shunning, the coldness and indifference, how can it hurt him so much? One by one she tossed the items towards him wordlessly. He caught them easily, without protest. Chichi had strict rules about most things, after Gohan was born, if they had a fight that lingered over night, instead of making him take the couch, she would make him sleep on their bedroom floor. She always maintained that Gohan could worry if he noticed that his parents were not sharing the same bed. She didn't want her little boy to worry.

With a sinking heart at her prolonged silence, he watched as she did something else unexpected, without even wearing one of those night dress things she always wore to bed, regardless of the fact that he would almost always toss it off her body carelessly, and without brushing her hair, or moisturizing her face, she climbed into the bed, and effectively shut off any further hopes of communication by firmly turning her back to him. He sighed, and started tugging at his boots.

Lying on the floor with a sheet loosely covering his bare torso, the silence, the tension weighing heavily on his heart, he waited patiently for the soft snivelling and whimpering that usually accompanied such nights. When he had still been alive, especially in those last three years whilst preparing for the androids, he would find himself on the floor a few times a month. He never actually spent a full night of course, at some point during the night she would start crying, very softly, in effort to hide it from him, but his ears were just too sharp for such a thing to escape him, he would crawl back into bed with her, hold and comfort her, murmuring soft words of comfort. She would cling to him and eventually fall asleep against him, his bare chest or vest, soaked with her tears. He remembered how he would brush her long hair with his fingers until he too, succumbed to the soft call of sleep. But this night, his eyes grew heavy long before any sounds erupted from the bed, it had been hours, and Chichi had not made one sound, barely even a movement. She couldn't really be sleeping peacefully could she? Not while he lay here, agonizing about their situation! She couldn't possibly care so little for his feelings as to enjoy a peaceful slumber in these circumstances? But a feel for her ki with his senses said otherwise. She was dead asleep, peacefully at that! How could she? How could she be so cold, so disinterested as to abandon him on the floor without so much as an explanation? He gripped the sheet tightly, his heart filling with a completely new and foreign emotion. His throat burned, creating a raw path all the way to his stomach. What is this feeling he wondered, but he was too tired to give into it. With a conflicted heart, he blinked back the prickling in his eyes, and finally let his heavy lids fall, tomorrow, he told himself, tomorrow he would make her talk.

A delicious aroma wafted and tantalized his nostrils. Lazily he opened his eyes and flinched. The wound on his chest was a bit tender, sitting up, he cast a quick glance to the bed and confirmed that Chichi was already up and busy with breakfast. Hurriedly he jumped into the shower and made his way to the sweet smells. Walking into the kitchen, the sight that greeted his eyes made woke up the sleeping guilt in him. How many of these mornings had he missed out on? Seven years worth, too many to count. Gohan and Goten were shovelling food in their mouths greedily, whilst Chichi watched them with a tenderness he longed to receive. In the soft light of the morning sun, the rays dancing as brightly as her smile, she was breathtaking. A coarse lump lodged itself in his throat. He didn't miss the frown that etched over her features when she noticed him.

"Hey guys" he greeted, ruffling both his sons heads. He didn't want to dwell on her obvious displeasure at seeing him. A few grunts and more slurping were the only greetings he received. He smiled at the sight, boy, it was good to be home! His stomach growled loudly, saliva already gathering in his mouth, boy oh boy, he thought excitedly, looking around greedily at the food, he frowned, there was barely anything left.

"Oh, Goku, sorry about that, I forgot you" Chichi said in a sickly sweet voice, shrugging her shoulders like it was the most obvious thing in the world "…habit…you understand?" she glared at him, a bit of mischief twinkling in her eyes, practically challenging him to say otherwise in front of the kids. He knew she was lying. She had deliberately _not_ cooked for him.

"That's ok, I'll just catch a fish or something" he mumbled beneath his breath. This was a bit of a low blow, she knew how much he looked forward to her cooking.

"Can I come?" Goten chirped, the mountain of food that had previously blocked his face from view was no more.

"Sure!" Goku said making a great effort to sound excited, I'll race ya there, and the two look-alikes were gone. Chichi couldn't help but feel lighter somehow, it was petty, not making enough food for him, but she didn't care, if she couldn't toss him out on his ass, then…anything else, no matter how small, to make his life a little more uncomfortable, she'd take it.

"Thinking about Videl?" Chichi teased her eldest

Gohan sputtered his chocolate milk

"MOM!" he shouted indignantly, Chichi just smiled knowingly, she would have to be careful how she played her hand in this. Originally she and Goku had teased the young man mercilessly about his 'friendship' with Videl. She doubted they'd bee doing anything as a team now, unless it was pertinent to the children's future, that is, then she would just have to suck it up and fake it. It had actually taken Gohan a year to actually ask Videl out on a proper date. She was more than willing to 'play her part', the same part she had played before, she didn't want to say or do anything that might change how their relationship had progressed and blossomed.

Half-way done with the pile of dishes, she suddenly stopped and frowned, she had never minded cleaning after her family, but when the dark times had hit, she had never bothered cooking, let alone cleaning dishes. It had come back surprisingly easily yesterday, whilst preparing the 'welcome home feast'. She had detested making it, but she didn't want to rouse suspicion. Cooking a huge breakfast for her babies had soothed her, it had been years since she had cooked for them. She was glad that they both ended up with such wonderful wives, great kids and even grandkids. Sadly she had not been able to joyfully partake in those precious family times. Her soul was dead by then, she couldn't go around this life like that though, it wouldn't be healthy.

She needed to find something to help her chip away the thick scabs of bitterness that encased her soul. She couldn't go through another fifty-five years feeling this way, doing the exact same things, the exact same way and hope to get a different result. It was time for some changes, she decided. She would grab life by the horns this time, live it on her terms, her rules, for her own personal amusement, and if she could make Goku's life a living hell in the process, well, that would just be a welcome side effect. She couldn't dedicate her entire existence towards punishing him, not yet, not while he still played such a pivotal role in her children's lives. They still needed him, still loved him, hero worshiped him - she wouldn't take that away from them. She would bide her time, she would be patient, hah! Its not as if she was lacking in that department.

Abandoning the rest of the dishes, she dashed for the phone, there was no time like the present to make a change.

"Hello daddy" she said into the receiver, she had gone into her bedroom to make the call, she didn't want Gohan to overhear her conversation.

"…fine, fine, everything's fine…Goku?…great, just great, he's out fishing with Goten…don't be silly dad, we're not a couple of kids anymore…whatever dad…the same can be said about you, you know…anyway, listen, can you send the family lawyer this afternoon…don't worry about it dad, I'll let you know when the time is right…sure why not, Goku's friends are coming to visit anyway, we'll make a party out of it…oh and dad…I need one of the palace maids…yes, you heard correctly…I don't care which one dad, just send her, and don't forget the lawyer…JUST DO IT DAD!" she shouted into the receiver, and cut the line.

_**That's chapter 2. I made a few changes based on the feedback from chp 1. I also tried to make my paragraphs shorter as suggested. I hope it reads better.**_

_**Please leave a review and let me in on your thoughts. **_


	3. Chapter 3

_**AN: OOPS! I'm so sorry to anyone that read this chapter before i could correct the mistake i made. i accidentatlly posted chap 3 of another story, you were right to be confused, lol, i've just corrected with the correct chap 3. SORRY!**_

_**Thank you to everyone that reviewed. **_

_**Here is the next chapter.**_

Chapter 3

Goten was out of breath, he was laughing and giggling so much, it was becoming painful to breathe.

"Say it! Say uncle!" Goku said playfully, relentlessly tickling the hysterical Goten.

"Nev-v…ah…hah…haha…NEVER!" Goten continued to resist, and with his little arms, tried fruitlessly to latch on to his fathers sides so he could land a few tickles himself. He hadn't had so much care-free fun in a long time! If only he knew that dads were so much fun! The only dad he really got to hang with was Trunks, and clearly the two dads were completely different. His father was really something else!

They had raced to the lake that ran through their boundless land in the mountains. It was a beautiful morning, many animals were out, casually grazing and drinking the fresh stream water. Upon hearing the duo noisily running and laughing, a few had darted back into the security of the thick forest, only a few, the ones that were used to the overactive Sons had remained.

"Alright!" Goku had exclaimed excitedly to his son "the last one in is a deer's poo!" he said, already in the processing of ridding himself off his clothes.

"Eww!" Goten had grimaced, even as he giggled, following his father's lead, he too continued to strip. He wasn't disturbed at all, at the fact that the older Saiyan dived into the lake butt naked. Happily Goten followed suit. A few seconds later, Goku emerged, wrestling a monstrous fish in his arms, laughing as his hands slipped from time to time off the huge and slippery creature.

"Alright dad, that was awesome!" Goten cheered, rushing to help his father wrestle the wiggling fish on to the river bank.

"Your turn!" Goku laughed, pushing Goten into the stream, "catch a big one son" he shouted after the disappearing head of his youngest. It took a few minutes, but Goten eventually emerged with his own fish, not quiet as big as his fathers but a good three times his size. It was huge!

"Look at me dad! I caught a big one!" he exclaimed excitedly, trying to lift his prize up high so his father could appraise it. Unfortunately his small little hands were not able to hold on to the slippery creature, before he knew what had happened, the fish had wiggled and slipped from his hands and was swimming for its life a small distance away.

"Oh no you don't" Goten swam after it. Poor fish, it was no match for a Saiyan's speed. A few seconds later, Goten had his prize, but this time round, he held firmly to its tail and dragged it out the water.

"Alright!" Goku beamed at his excited son. His heart was still painfully heavy from his situation with Chichi but he couldn't help himself, Goten's cheerfulness was just too contagious! He was so different from how Gohan used to be at his age. Gohan had always been a bit more serious, reserved, nervous, traits that neither he nor Chichi had. They were both outgoing, determined and adventurous, much like little Goten here seemed to be.

Done with the fishing, the duo slipped back into their underwear.

"Can we cook'em now?" Goten asked eagerly, he couldn't wait to sink his teeth into some freshly grilled fish. One would think it had been hours since he had last ate, not less than half and hour!

"We sure can!" Goku said, breaking a few tree branches, and using his teeth and nails to carve a surprisingly monstrous but very well made spear to use for the grilling. Making a fire was a cinch. He simply gathered a few logs, using his ki, he set them alight.

The duo sat back with equal eager expressions on their faces. The fish sizzled and browned, the aromas making them delirious with anticipation, saliva was pooling down around them. They couldn't wait!

"Daddy, now that you're not dead and stuff, can we play all the time?" Goten asked shyly.

"You bet!" Goku said, scooting closer to his son, ruffling his hair lightly, and giving him an impromptu squeeze.

"Can Trunks play too?" he asked hopefully, he didn't know if this would be ok, since Trunks dad was very exclusive whith whom he associated with. Goten was often not allowed in the training chamber.

"Sure he can, we should also include Maron somethimes, Gohan too, when he's not too busy with school" Goku assured, he still found it weird that Android 18 and Krillin had a baby, but, he was happy for his best friend. He wondered if Krillin was training the girl. He didn't sense any significant Ki coming from her.

"But Trunks says Maron has cooties!" Goten said, frowning at the thought of playing with the little girl and catching the dreaded cooties.

"Cooties, oh wow, is that some kind of cookie? Sounds yummy!" Goku said, rubbing his tummy

"DAD! Yuck! You cant eat cooties, their disgusting, don't you know, it's what girls have, it's what makes them so yucky!"

Goku grabbed his chin thoughtfully, 'cooties? Something that only girls have? Strange, Chichi didn't teach him about cooties, and he'd thought she'd taught him every little thing about the female body. Maybe Goten meant boobies, boys didn't have breasts, but breasts weren't yucky, they were…rather…erm…yummy, for a lack of a better word. But Trunks was still young, he didn't understand about these things,' he supposed it was natural for him to think that breasts were yucky. Chuckling lightly, he patted his son's back.

"Nah, breasts aren't yucky Goten, trust me, you'll understand when your older."

Goten blushed, 'b-breasts, those things that mommies and Videl had?' He secretly had a small fascination with the round soft mounds, but now he wasn't so sure, Trunks had made it very clear that they were disgusting! He wondered how Maron was hiding hers? Maybe she knew some magic trick or something. He would have to take a better look next time he saw her. He shrugged, dismissing the thought.

"Is momma gonna stop crying now?" Goten enquired, giving his father a hopeful look

"When did she cry?" Goku asked, a lump growing in his throat

"All the time, for as long as I can remember, she said your name a lot, mostly at night, when she thought we couldn't hear her" he continued "big-brother said not to talk to her about it, cause it'd just make her even more sad, knowing that we knew she was sad" he continued conversationally

"I-I…I had no idea Goten, do you know why she cried?" his throat was getting scratchy again, he turned the fish over unnecessarily, action always made him feel a bit better.

"I'm not sure, Gohan said she missed you and stuff, and that all mommies were sad when there wasn't a daddy to talk to and hug'em and kiss'em and stuff. Now that you're here, you have to promise to hug and kiss her, I do it all the time, but Gohan says it's not the same." his eyes were so expressive and innocent, Goku didn't know what to say. He wad dying to kiss and hugg her and a lot more 'stuff', but his wife wouldn't let him anywhere near him. The memory of her cold treatment was like a painful squeeze on his heart. He had tried hard to not think of them when he was dead. He had tried to keep himself busy all the time, otherworld tournaments, training, keeping up the order in hell with Pikkon whenever the situation called for it. But ultimately, no matter how hard he'd tried, he would find himself thinking of his family back on Earth, wondering if they were missing him as much as he missed them. It pained him to know that Chichi had cried herself to sleep for so long.

"Dad?" Goten called out to him, he wasn't sure why his daddy was looking so gloomy all of a sudden. Did he not want to kiss his mom and stuff. Was he scared of getting cooties?

"Mom's don't have them Dad" he said, trying to reassure his father, he wanted to see him smiling and laughing again.

"Don't have what son?" Goku asked, he willed himself to stop thinking about those problems, Goten deserved to enjoy his time alone with him. It was seven years overdue.

"Mom's don't have cooties, you don't have to be scared, you can hug and kiss mommy and stuff, you'll be fine" little Goten patted his father on the back.

Goku couldn't help himself, Goten was so cute, he gathered him up in his strong arms and gave him a squeeze.

"D'ya wanna test the fish?" he asked him.

Goten nodded his head vigorously. Oh boy, FISH!

And so the two Sons got to work on the fish, peeling the flesh and devouring it. A few minutes later, two large skeletons were the only remnants of that morning's fishing trip.

They lay back on the grass, equal smiles on their faces, their hands convincingly rubbing their full bellies.

"Hey Goten, you wanna play a little game my grandpa Gohan taught me when I was your age" Goku asked his son.

Goten bolted up-right, nodding his head eagerly.

"Aha…aha…let's play, let's PLAY!" he said excitedly. Goku laughed. Goten's enthusiasm was contagious!

A few hours later, Goku walked towards his house, a sleeping Goten cradled in his arms. They had played so much, they had completely lost track of time. Around noon, after munching away on piles and piles of berries, Goten had declared sleepily that it was 'nap time', without further warning, he had snuggled up to his father and fallen asleep. Goku had spent a good fifteen minutes just staring at angelic sight of his sleeping Son. His heart swollen with love and pride. Chichi had done a magnificent job. Goten was priceless. Not knowing the little guy's routine, he had decided to take him into the house.

Gohan glanced up from his spot on the couch and smiled at the sight. Goten was sleeping snugly in his fathers embrace. He wondered what they'd been up to the entire morning. It was already lunch time!

"Hey Son" Goku whispered.

"Let me take him" Gohan said, arms outstretched. Goku didn't really want to hand him over, but he obliged his eldest. Painfully he realized that Gohan must have been doing this for Gotens entire life. He put Goten gently in Gohan's arms and watched him disappear down the corridor to the boys room.

He wondered were Chichi was. Around this time, Chichi had always been buzzing around the kitchen, preparing something scrumptious. The air would be filled with mouth-watering aromas. He couldn't sense her anywhere in the house, let alone in the vicinity.

"Where's your mom son?" he asked Gohan as he returned from putting Goten down for his nap.

"Not sure, she said something about errands, and not being caught unprepared 'this time round' when your friends came over this afternoon." Gohan shrugged, his mom had been acting a bit strange, mumbling to herself a great deal that morning.

"Whose coming?" Goku asked, he didn't know that people were coming.

"Mom said your friends are coming later, I thought you guys had invited them over or something" Gohan shrugged, taking his place on the couch again.

"Oh" was all Goku could say. He didn't know anything. Chichi wasn't really talking to him, so even if people were coming over, he wouldn't know. He took a seat next to Gohan.

"Dad…I…I…never got to say I'm sorry" Gohan said quietly

"Sorry for what son?" Goku asked.

"I didn't listen, about Cell I mean, if I had just listened to you, then things wouldn't have gotten out of control. You never would have had to step in…I-I…" Goku pulled his son into a hug.

"No, Gohan, no…it was never meant to be your fight in the first place. I-I should have been strong enough, I should have pushed myself harder, you did your best son. If anyone should be sorry, it should be me. Not you, me. You were just a small boy, you never should have had the weight of the world put on your shoulders. You did your best, just as you did with Majin Buu"

"Then why…why…" Gohan choked, the eleven year old boy in him coming to the surface.

"Why did you leave us dad,…why did you leave me?" he cried, his voice weak and trembling.

"I made a terrible mistake Gohan, I made an impulsive decision, driven by guilt…so much guilt…I'm sorry for leaving you." Goku said, his own emotion choking him up.

Gohan just nodded. He loved his father dearly, always had. He still hero-worshiped him, but it would take time to fully accept that his father didn't blame him. That he hadn't stayed dead because he had failed him. He would also need time to forgive him on his mom's and Goten's behalf. Chichi had suffered the most, had continued to suffer, had continued to mourn, even years after. Gohan had tried to be the best son he could be, the best brother and father for Goten too. He owed it to them, since he was largely responsible for getting his father killed. But he also blamed his father for giving up on life, for refusing to be wished back. It would take time, but they were a family again. They could finally heal.

"Mom really missed you, I don't think she ever really recovered. She was so excited when I told her you were coming back, even if it was just for a day. She went shopping for herself, something she hadn't bothered to do in years." Gohan smiled at the memory. His mom had been giddy with excitement, just as giddy as some of the girls in his school. He had deliberately gone to bed with headphones last night. When he was younger, he was accustomed to the sounds coming from his parents bedroom, but now that he was older, he was more than just a little embarrassed about the prospect of overhearing such a thing.

Goku didn't know what to say, there had been no indication that Chichi was even remotely pleased to see him. Both his sons seemed to be under the impression that their mother had welcomed him back with open arms. Hell, even he had suffered that illusion at some point. He wondered if he had done something wrong when he had first arrived. If Chichi had truly been excited about seeing him, could he have done something, or not done something upon his arrival to turn her feelings towards him so drastically? He thought back to his appearance.

"Hi everyone, I'm back!" he had exclaimed happily.

"Goku!" his friends had collectively squealed

"You guys have changed a lot in seven years, Gohan! You're a giant!" he had exclaimed at the sight of his fully grown son. Looking around, he had spotted Chichi hanging a ways back. She had this blank expression on her face. When their eyes met, hers had been ice cold, without so much as a smile, she had turned away from him.

Bringing himself back to the present, he shook his head. Nope, he didn't even get a chance to screw up, Chichi had detested him the second she'd laid eyes on him. It had to be something else, something else must have happened in the two months between his announcement and his actual coming back. He didn't want to drag Gohan into this mess, he seemed so happy, believing that his parents were happy. He wouldn't ruin that happiness, not for anything in the world.

"So Videl ha?" Goku said, suddenly changing topics. He laughed out loud when Gohan's face turned beet red.

"Not you too dad, I told you, she's just a friend" he exclaimed. Honestly what was up with his parents?

"Friends huh?" Goku smiled. "Let's see…" he said and jumped to his feet. Pulling his arms to his sides and clenching his fists, he brought his face just a centimetre away from his sons and shouted, loudly.

"Dad, I'm not gonna let MY GIRLFRIEND, kiss that old relic!" Goku mimicked his sons enraged words from the Kai planet.

Gohan flushed some more, ok, so his dad had a point, he had been outraged at his dad for suggesting that Videl kiss the Elder Kai in exchange for bringing out his hidden power. He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly.

Goku burst out laughing. Oh, he was going to have fun with this!

Chichi sat stiffly in her chair as the talkative hairdresser continued to fuss about her. She hadn't planned on making this stop, she had just gone out to buy a few things. She knew that Goku's friends would be making a surprise appearance in the afternoon. Originally she had been caught unprepared, she had spent most of the morning frolicking with Goku in bed. After a very late breakfast, they had all gone swimming as a family, it had been a lazy day, until some of his friends had shown up in the late afternoon. There hadn't been much to offer them, eventually Goku and Gohan had zapped out to buy some take-aways and more refreshments.

But since her father, the family lawyer and the maid were coming as well, she decided to go shopping for a few things. On her way back to her car, something had pulled her towards this hairdressing salon. She had never really changed her hair, not really. But now as she sat in this chair, the hairdresser turning her head this way and that, she couldn't help but think that a change was just the thing she needed to help her kick start all the other lifestyle changes she intended to make. Staring back at her reflection, she was still not used to seeing herself like this. Her young face was familiar enough, but it just didn't feel like _hers . _It was more like looking at the face of a long lost friend, more than her own.

"Are you sure about this?" the hairdresser asked her again, tilting her head up, and lifting her long shining hair completely off her face.

'Was she sure about this?' she wondered, something in her heart, something she was surprised to discover, protesting lightly. She thought back to that day, so long ago now, Gohan had been about two months old…

She sat staring at her reflection, scissors in one hand. She had never cut her own her before, but how difficult could it be. She placed the scissors a few centimetres from her scalp and snipped. Out of nowhere, Goku had appeared, a horrified expression on his face, his hand had somehow managed to stop her actions before she could even blink.

"CHICHI!" What are you doing?" he exclaimed dramatically, like she had been caught cheating on him or something.

"I'm cutting my hair silly, what does it look like?" she looked back at him through her reflection.

"But why? Why would you do such a thing?" he sounded horrified, honestly Goku was so weird.

"I told you, Gohan pulls it, all the time when he's feeding, it relaxes him I guess, and I wouldn't mind it if he didn't tug so hard, I don't know how he can be so strong at such a young age. But look…" she said, parting some of the hair to expose her scalp. She had a few bald patches, they looked a bit red and sore "…your son pulls so hard, he pulled the hair right out of my scalp!" she emphasized.

Goku frowned, and fingered the spots gently.

"You see…" Chichi said, taking the scissors from him again. She was about to snip, but once again, Goku stopped her.

"Don't Chi, don't cut it, please" he whined, his innocent eyes looking up to her hopefully.

"Goku! It's no big deal, it'll grow back" she said irritably

"But Chi…" he protested

"What's the big deal Goku, it's not like it's gonna hurt or something, it's just hair. I'll cut it this short for now, in a year or so, it will be long again, simple"

His eyes widened to the size of saucers. Chichi ran through her sentence. Nope, she was definitely sure that she didn't say anything frightening like she planned on feeding on their son or something. What in the world was his problem.

"A whole YEAR!" he shook his head 'no' vigorously "…no, no, no, you cant do that, a year is too long Chi" he protested heatedly.

"OK Mr, that's it, what is your PROBLEM!" she shouted. Goku could be such a child sometimes. It was infuriating!

"I just…I just…I like it like this" he said, running his fingers through it lightly "…It's so…I don't know…soft…and long…and…shiny…and I like waking up in the morning to see it sprawled on my chest. I like running my fingers through it, I could do that for hours…I especially like it when you unclip it at the top and it comes spiralling down slowly around your face…your neck…your shoulders….I don't know…I love the way it bounces and curves around your shoulders when we're making love…it's just so…you Chichi, and I don't want you to change it, I don't want you to cut it, I don't think I could bare it." he finished quietly. His fingers were digging into her scalp now, massaging her head.

She didn't know what to say, it was just hair, she could take it or leave it. But apparently Goku was attached to it in some warped way. Just when she thought she had him figured out, just when she thought she couldn't love him more than she already did. He went off and said these…things to her. 'Oh Goku' she thought. Leaning her head into him, his fingers working their magic on her.

"Promise not to cut it Chi, you can keep it tied up in a bun, like you do sometimes, it will be difficult for Gohan to get to it like that. Besides, then I can get to watch it fall every night" he was whispering into her ear now, the scissors long forgotten.

"Promise me" he said again, nibbling gently on her neck. "Promise to never cut it, ever" he slipped he kimono down her shoulders.

"I promise" she said, throwing her neck back so he could have easy excess.

"SO?" the hairdresser's voice brought her back to the present. "What will it be?" he asked. She cursed her traitorous body for getting all warm and tingly at the memory.

"Cut it" she said coldly. "Chop the whole damn thing OFF!"

The Son boys were having their own version of a barbecue outside on the lawn. When Goten had woken up from his nap with still no sign of Chichi, Goku had gone hunting, bringing back a massive dinosaur for lunch. They set up a gigantic spit, as only super-strong beings could, and roasted the dinosaur to perfection. They were just about done eating the giant reptile when Chichi's hover car landed gently on the lawn.

Goten wiped the grease on his pants and raced to greet his mom. Goku and Gohan hung back, watching the scene with small smiles on their faces. Chichi stepped out of the car, her heels sinking slightly into the grass. She was wearing her dark-blued summer dress, knee length, strapless shoulders.

"Momma!" Goten cheered, before he did a double take when his eyes made their way to his moms face. For a second he thought he had made a mistake, this person, that hairstyle was more like Videl's, only shorter. But the woman swept her up into her arms and smiled a smile Goten would recognise anywhere. Yep, this was his mommy alright. She looked different, but she still looked pretty, a bit younger maybe.

"Gohan ate a whole dinosaur tail!" he reported, already over the new look.

"He did?" Chichi smiled, and put him back on the ground. It was impossible to be depressed around Goten. He practically forced the cheerfulness out of you.

"Hurry and get the bags for mommy will you?" she said, standing to her full height and looking at the two tall Sons staring back at her in shock.

Gohan couldn't believe his eyes, his mom had cut her hair. So much of it. Her hair was just a bit shorter than Videl's. He didn't know much about hairstyles, but it appeared that the cut was similar in shape and style to Videl's as well, though her mom had more hair directed to her front. He couldn't deny that she looked stunning, younger even. It was bizarre, it would take some getting used to.

Goku didn't breathe. He couldn't believe his eyes.

He blinked, and blinked again.

There was no mistake, Chichi had cut her hair. He couldn't deny that she looked stunning. The little dress, the little heels, she didn't dress like this often, but she had her moments. No, he wasn't frowning because he thought the new look didn't suit her. One would have to be blind not to notice how much more pronounced her cheekbones looked, how her eyes were highlighted, as if brightened somehow. And Goku was many things, but blind was certainly not one of them.

As her eyes met his defiantly, he couldn't help but get angry. He knew what this was. It was another jab at him. Just like this morning with breakfast. She had deliberately gone out to do the one thing he had ever begged her not to do regarding her appearance. It would be different if she had done it because she genuinely wanted to shorten her hair. But some part of him, that part that was more instinct than logic, told him otherwise. Where the emotion suddenly came from, he didn't know, but enough was enough, if she wanted to play these childish games, she could play them, _after_ she had given him answers. Without thinking he appeared right before her, startling her right out of that chilling glare.

Without word, he scooped her up in his arms and took off into the skies. Chichi screeched in surprise, this was not how she imagined this scene, instinctively shutting her eyes and clinging to him for support. She cursed her body for wanting to inch closer and closer to him. Why? Why couldn't she control her physical reaction to him? She wanted to lash out at him, but she didn't dare, not this high up in the sky.

A few minutes later, Goku landed at the tip of a very high mountain, the small green shrubs carpeting the terrain covered lightly in snow. Once their feet were planted firmly on the ground, he let her go. She backed away from him, she didn't get too far though, it was hardly smooth and flat - her heels hardly ideal.

"I get it. You hate me. I get it" he said seriously, his eyes never leaving her flushed and angry face.

"But Chichi, honey, you have to get it too. We're not leaving this mountain until you tell me why." he finished.

"Take me back!" she fumed

"No"

"Take me back Goku!"

"No"

"NOW!" she screamed, and pounded on his chest.

He was worse than a brick wall. He didn't budge.

_**I'm cutting this chapter here, otherwise it'll be too long. I'll post the rest as a new chapter.**_

_**I changed a few things to lessen a bit of the angst, hence I gave this chapter more Goku time. **_

_**Review please.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: _

_Sorry you guys, I thought I put this up before I disappeared on vacation. I'm back, and here you go, the second part of chap 3._

**Disclaimer: DBZ, when will you be mine?**

Chapter 4

Exhausted, breathless and in pain from pounding on his chest, Chichi turned her back on him and gave up. She rubbed her sore palms against each other in a futile attempt to soothe them. She scowled at how red they were, 'damn him and his indestructible body!' she thought angrily.

She peered down the side of the mountain and quickly dismissed the thought of venturing all the way down by herself. They were ridiculously high up, she couldn't even see the bottom half of it, let alone the base. The air was a lot more chilly as well she noted, rubbing her palms up and down her bare arms. It seemed as though everything was working against her in this chilly environment, her strapless summer dress, her flimsy heels, even her shorter hair. If she had been wearing her typical attire, it wouldn't have been so bad up here, present company excluded of course.

"Any minute now, you're friends will be arriving" she said, tonelessly. It was time for a different approach. If there was one thing she had learned during those dark times in therapy, it was that, if you desired a different result, you aught to venture on a new strategy.

"They can wait" Goku said, matter of factly.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" she accused bitterly, whirling around to face him.

Goku raised an eyebrow at her statement, it sounded rather loaded, short as it was.

"You could have them _wait_ all afternoon to see you, or maybe let the afternoon stretch into the evening, or all night for that matter. It wouldn't make one damn difference to you, would it?" she accused.

Goku just stared, he had no idea where she was going with this.

"But wait, this is you we're talking about, so you'd probably be content to make them _wait_ even longer, if you so desired, two days, three…or maybe a week or two…a few months maybe?…hah? Goku…what's a few months of waiting on you, right?"

"I think you're exaggerating Chichi, I wouldn't do that" he said simply, she was even more crazy than he remembered, he thought.

"LIKE HELL YOU WOULDN'T" she screamed, taking him by complete surprise.

"It's who you are GOKU! It's what you do. You KEEP PEOPLE WAITING! And you don't care how long…as long as it suits you, who cares about anyone else right? Months, years, DECADES! It's all the FUCKING SAME TO YOU!" she shouted, her attempt to reason with him completely out the window. The anger she was trying to suppress, spurting out in unpredictable streams.

Goku's eyes widened at her choice of words. Chichi had never used such language outside the bedroom, no matter how infuriated she got with him. It didn't help that her accusations were completely insane, why would his friends stay at his house for years just waiting to see him. If he didn't show, they would either sense him and come to him if it was urgent, or go back home and catch him another time. Why was she making such a big deal out of his saying they can wait?

"Chi, you're beeing unreasonable, I…"

"Unreasonable, unreasonable….UNREASONABLE?" she shouted in his face. "…what's unreasonable is being taken against my own will, deposited on some random mountain top, where I cant even walk straight without threat of falling and breaking my neck, not to mention the fact that it's freezing up here. The only unreasonable person up here is you Goku. You want to know why I hate you so much, ha?…do you?…do you?" she glared.

Goku gulped, and despite having had raised his ki just a tinsy winsy tad to brace the small chill, he felt something cold run down his spine at her words. She had actually admitted, mouthed out that she indeed did hate him. It was one thing to see it in her eyes, to deduce it in her actions, but to hear it, from her own mouth? There was definitely something chilling about it.

He wasn't so sure he was ready to have this conversation after all. But it was too late, Chichi was already on a roll.

"I'LL TELL YOU WHY, because you are the single most selfish, irresponsible and unreasonable human being I've ever had the misfortune to meet…but then again, I give you too much credit, you're not even a human being at all, are you? You're just some barbaric alien that did a fine job of masquerading as a real person." she took pause deliberately, feeling slightly vindicated by the sudden paleness of his skin at her words. But she was far from done.

"It would be easier if I could blame it on account of your genetics, on your barbaric race, but sadly even that isn't true, Vegeta may be a lot of things, a lot of really bad things, but one thing he is not, is a poor excuse for a husband and father. That is the one thing he will always have one up on you Goku, and it makes me feel sick to my stomach."

"Chichi, I…I've always tried to do my best, for our family, our friends, this planet…I…I've even given my life, more than once, just so…" she cut him off.

"That's right, you gave your family up, your wife, your son, taking my happiness along with you to the grave, just so you could keep this planet safe you said. Fine, I understood, I accepted it even, but then…then what the hell are you doing back alive Goku? Is the safety of the planet no longer a priority for you anymore?" she spat bitterly.

"Of course it is Chichi, I would do anything to keep this planet safe, you know that!" he declared vehemently.

"Oh really?" she accused.

Goku did not like her tone, not one tiny bit. He had given so much, given up so much, so she could live, so that everyone could live, while he was stuck in otherworld. Despite training, there were no other pleasure to be enjoyed. Frankly earth was a better definition of heaven than otherworld ever could be in his book. How could she question his commitment to keeping the earth safe?

"Yes, really!" he retorted cheekily at her audacity.

"So that's why you dismissed Bulma's plan to find Gero and destroy him before he could complete and unleash the androids? That's why you engaged in battle with Vegeta, despite Supreme Kais warnings, and ultimately feeding enough energy to unleash that monster that killed everyone and blew up the planet? That's why you didn't finish Buu of yourself when you still had the advantage as a Super Saiyan 3, instead of pining the responsibility on our seven year old son! Mnn, yes, I'm convinced now, your obssesion with fighting doesn't surpass keeping the earth safe, not one damn bit" she said sarcastically.

Goku was in her face in an instant, grabbing roughly on to her shoulders. His glare fixed on her slightly widened eyes. His mouth, mere inches away from her flushing face, his slightly heated ki, radiating warmly, caressingly on her face.

"Are you saying it's my fault, the androids, Cell, Majin Buu, the world being destroyed, billions and billions of people dying? Ha? Chichi, is that what you're trying to tell me, that you blame me for the end of the world?" his last words warmed her face even more, her heart was beating furiously, his grip was so tight, her arms were already starting to discolour.

"Yes…" she whispered breathlessly, fixing her eyes coldly onto his.

At that one whispered confession, Goku flinched like he had been burned by the most corrosive acid. The anger he had been feeling towards her at her continued efforts to taunt him dissipating. If ever there were defeating words…

"The world was perfectly safe for seven years while you stayed dead, but the very same day you came back, the very day Goku, my sons were absorbed by a monster, later to be abandoned by you to their death. I was turned into an egg and squashed to death. Everything was destroyed, everything and everyone, there wasn't a scrap of the planet left. So yes Goku, my answer is yes, I blame you for _everything_." she said sultrily, she wanted to blast her own body for feeling so tingly in his grip.

She desperately wanted to throw many more accusations at him, decades worth of heartbreak, but she couldn't do that, not just yet, not only would it not make sense to him, she couldn't guarantee that it wouldn't have any long term negative consequences on everything and everyone. _'Damn that stupid, stupid, DRAGON!'_ she thought for the millionth time!

She was so lost in her momentary thoughts that she didn't even realise that Goku had let her go, that he had stepped away from her, it was only when the blanketing heat from his body evaporated and left that familiar chill, that she noticed him, noticed them, his eyes, glistening, threatening to overflow with a pool of tears.

Her breath caught. Not since the day of Gohan's birth, had she ever seen Goku so openly overcome with emotion.

Somewhere, buried deep within the pile of scabs from all the decades of hardship and abandonment, of hateful regret and vindictive longing, something, somehow, cracked. It floored her completely, how was it possible to feel bad for him. HOW? After everything he had put her through? She scowled at her weakness. Whatever that emotion was, wherever it had come from, she buried it right back and focused on her victory. She couldn't deny that part of her that was glad to see him suffer this way, she may have been a good person once upon a time, but any goodness she had left was reserved solely for her children, Goku's harsh treatment had seen to that. She was no saint, she wanted her dues.

Goku was numb. It would be so easy to dismiss her confession. To look towards something positive, to formulate a plan to redeem himself in her eyes. But her words had cut him too deeply, his heart, his soul, they were practically haemorrhaging the despondency he was feeling. He could barely muster enough willpower to remain standing, let alone positive thoughts.

"So…" he said gruffly, clearing his throat in the hopes of eliminating the pricking sensation lodged there.

Chichi just stood before him, folding her arms, her face slightly raised to meet his.

"Are you saying…are you saying, you rather I was still dead?" he had never wanted to hear a denial as much as he wanted to hear it right that second.

"Yes" she said again, and knocked the wind out of him. Not even Kid Buu's punches hurt so bad.

"But Goten deserves a father, Gohan too, so…there you go" she trailed off.

She watched stiffly, as a lone tear finally broke out of the pool gathered in his eyes. Like a snail, it trailed down his cheek slowly, leaving a grey path behind.

"Do you…do you…?" he trailed off. He desperately wanted to know if she still loved him, despite all everything she had accused him off. He desperately wanted to know if he could at least have one small thing to hold on to. But the look in her eyes paralyzed him with fear. The doubt and insecurity kept him landlocked, unable to finish his sentence.

"Do I want to go home?" Chichi finished his sentence for him,

"Yes, of course I do, but feel free to keep me waiting, I'm used to it" she said, chuckling darkly, bitterly and surprising him by sitting on the rough terrain and proceeding to take off her heels.

Goku let her finish, he could see the goose bumps on her skin from the chill. He could see the blush of her cheeks and the slight paleness of her lips. A small gust of wind blew, lifting her dress for a second before it fell back on to her lap. He was able to steal a glimpse at her purple panties. They were the lacy kind.

As the wind continued to play her dress up and down and side to side, her toes slightly curled, he couldn't help himself. Heavy as his heart was, bleeding as his soul was, hopeless like the time a giant Vegeta had crushed all of his bones, he still couldn't help but think back to that night many years ago. The night her toes had curled for the first time under his clumsy and inexperienced ministrations. The night she had been wearing purple lacy underwear under a flimsy nightie, not unlike her current dress. The night of the day they had become husband and wife.

It all came back to him, like he was watching it vividly on Elder Kais Crystal ball…

He had walked nervously to where his best friends Krilin and Yumcha where sitting, drinking and talking animatedly. He had just began to relax after the whole 'marriage ceremony, thing' was over, and his bride, yes his bride, that's what she called herself, had told him that everything had been just perfect!

He was happy to see that all the fussing, the dressing up, the walking down the aisle, the repeating of strange lines, the throwing and wasting of good rice, the numerous happy cheers, the biggest cake he had ever seen ( his favourite part) - all of it, he was happy to see that it made _he_r so happy.

And there was something about seeing her so deliriously happy that made him happy, he didn't understand it, but he accepted it, welcomed it and wanted to continue on that path.

But now he realised he was about to disappoint her, he wasn't spying or anything, but his ears had the tendency to pick up things from further away than other people, and he had just overheard her talking with some other girls from the village; they were all talking about the big surprise for tonight?

Apparently he was supposed to organise a special place to take her for their first night as husband and wife! No one had mentioned this to him!

"I'll bet there'll be roses on the bed", one girl had giggled.

"A big bottle of champagne" another added.

"Maybe the hotel will be one of those really expensive ones with Egyptian cotton sheets" and they all squealed in delight.

"Imagine scented candle light, bubble bath, strawberries and cream" another girl offered as she started to fan herself with her hand.

The eavesdropping Goku had no idea what they were talking about, but he understood that he was supposed to have provided these things for his wife. She was expecting something along those lines, but truth be told he had not thought much about what would happen after the day was over. He was counting on Chichi to know what to do, but now…

"And here is the lucky son of a bitch right now!" exclaimed

Yamcha, raising his glass up to Goku.

"Yeah, buddy, it was a beautiful wedding man" chirped Krilin as he too raised his glass to his oldest friend.

They had both had a few to drink and didn't notice that their ever cheerful friend was looking rather pale at that very moment.

"I think I've really messed this whole thing up you guys" said Goku nervously.

"What do you mean man, the wedding's great" consoled Krillin.

"Yes, but I just heard Chichi talking with some of the other girls from the village, something about me organising a hotel with Egyptian sheets and candles in the bath, they sounded really excited about it and I don't even know any hotels except the ones from the tournaments, but they didn't have any candles or strawberries" he finished, defeated.

"Oh, sorry buddy, I don't know any hotels like that either, I just thought that you and Chichi would go straight to the house the Ox King built for you, especially with the palace such a mess still" apologised Krillin.

"Relax guys, you forget we have a very rich young lady amongst our midst, let me speak to Bulma, she'll be able to organise a really nice hotel for you Goku and I'll make sure they fill the room with all that crap that girls like ok?" Yamcha added with authority.

"Just give me a few minutes and I'll let you know the name and address of the hotel ok?"

"Thanx Yamcha, I really don't want to disappoint Chichi tonight, she's been so happy with the wedding and everything, I don't want her to get mad at me."

…_at the hotel…_

"Oh Goku" she exclaimed "this is so beautiful, I never thought…" she trailed off as she looked around the massive room. She honestly didn't expect anything like this, it was so…over the top! She traced her hand along the edge of the bed and was startled by how soft it all was, so silky, luxurious, unexpected. She was a princess, she was used to the finer things in life, but she had been more than willing to give it all up to marry her one and only. She hadn't really expected him to step up to the plate and provide all this…

There were candles everywhere, a light sprinkle of rose pedals on the bed, she thought it was a bit corny but still, a beautiful table of delicacies set for two, a chilling bottle of champagne, chocolates on the pillow, soft music, so soft in fact, she hadn't heard it at first. She honestly didn't know what to make of it.

Some of the girls had joked about all the wedding night clichés, but deep in her heart she had not expected anything at all, she was very much aware of whom she was getting married to and she didn't think that Goku had any idea about things like this. She had thought that they would go to Mt. Paouzu, and settle in immediately in the house her father had built for them.

Frankly, she had been so consumed about their _first time_ doing the deed, that she hadn't thought about all the other little things. But apparently Goku _had _thought about it, and though she could not imagine loving him more, she was filled with so much emotion she didn't even have time to stop the trickle of tears that escaped so suddenly from her eyes.

He was at her side immediately, "Don't you like it Chi?" he asked so quietly she almost didn't hear him.

"Oh Goku, no, it's not that, I really like it, I'm just so happy," she beamed "you've made me so happy today" she sighed and encircled him in a hug. There was something so _natural_ about his smell. Trees, flowers, air, water, she couldn't decide, the general outdoors perhaps, _fresh _was the word that came to mind. She pulled away from his body slightly, arms still intertwined behind him and looked up at those deep dark orbs, and smiled.

"I'm going to go get ready ok, you just make yourself comfortable, have some champagne or chocolates, but save the strawberries and cream for later" she winked as she picked up her small bag and slipped quietly into the bathroom.

Goku watched the bathroom door close and sighed with relief. Bulma had come through after all, the room had all the things Chichi and her friends had talked about and more. And although it all looked kinda silly to him, he especially liked the idea of all those delicious chocolates on the pillows. Now, he had been told that he would be sharing a bed with Chichi, so he quickly took off his tie, it had been nagging him all day, and proceeded to shed off the rest of his clothes and shoes. He put everything away nicely in the shelves and walked around in his boxers and undershirt to try some of the food that was left for them. He didn't really want to have any more champagne, it had made him feel light headed and weird at the wedding. He wondered what she was doing in there for so long, he was more than ready to collapse onto the bed and fall asleep. After popping everything into his mouth with the exception of the strawberries, he walked over to the bed and sat down. He didn't know who was supposed to get into bed first, and not wanting to screw things up, decided to wait for Chichi.

After what seemed like hours she finally emerged, wearing, well he didn't really know exactly what she was wearing but it was definitely revealing. He shifted uncomfortably on the bed, not wanting to get shouted at for staring, but finding himself helpless against it. Her long fine hair was free from its binds and it hung loosely against her shoulders.

"So, what'd you think?" she asked shyly, twirling to give him a complete view. Goku didn't know what he was supposed to think so he just continued to stare.

"Er…" he stammered, he had learned the hard way that girls were very difficult to please when it came to that particular question. Watching her every move as she walked towards the bed.

Thirsty, yes, that's what it was, he was thirsty. He had seen many girls dressed like that, or in less in his old masters magazines, he had never really thought much about it at all, the only interesting thing about them where the huge bums on their chests and their lack of balls, he always found that a bit strange, but he had gotten used to it, and learned to disregard it after a while, strangely the images had never affected him weirdly in his stomach like Chichi.

"Chichi I…" he began to say, but to his utter shock, she had moved on top of him, knees on either side of his thighs, her breasts, so dangerously close to his chest, her face just inches away from his. He gulped, and sweated.

This was _very_ uncomfortable.

He shifted back, his head bumping into the headboard, there was nowhere to run.

Her scent filled his senses and his heart began to hammer against his chest. Was he getting dizzy, man, this was bad.

She moved her face towards his and kissed him firmly on the lips.

Ok, a kiss, he could handle that. Chichi had made him do it a few times while they were out searching for the bansho fan. So he pressed his mouth firmly against hers and waited…Chichi pulled back and looked into his eyes.

"I'm ready" she said breathlessly.

'Shoo!' he thought.

He was so relieved, finally she was ready to sleep. Not wasting anytime, he picked her off of him and set her aside on the other side of the bed.

"Goku what are you…?" she trailed off as she watched in disbelief as he turned away from her.

"What are you doing Goku?" she asked uncertainly, "Sleeping, all that ale at the wedding, it's making me feel very weird. I think it's best to just sleep" he finished off.

"I thought…you don't want to make love?" came the quiet voice.

He didn't really know what 'making love' was, but he doubted it was something worth while, especially this late in the night. All he wanted was sleep, then he could look forward to a good breakfast tomorrow.

"Nope!" he announced happily, and sank further into the mattress. He closed his eyes contentedly.

"Ouch!" he screamed, when something hard connected with his head. He looked up to see the angry face of Chichi glaring back at him. 'What the?' he thought, but she was already gone from the bed, the unmistakable 'click' signalling that she had locked herself in the bathroom.

He sighed, getting out of bed to follow. 'what now?' he thought tiredly.

He must have pleaded and pounded on the door for ages, but Chichi wouldn't talk to him. He cursed his hearing, he could tell she was crying in there, though she was making an effort to be quiet. This girl business was hardly worth the effort! He questioned again why his friends were so envious of this whole thing.

"Chichi if you don't come out and talk to me, I'm going to break this door!" he threatened.

The bathroom door swivelled and opened so quickly he didn't react fast enough to catch his balance. He was quick to pick himself off the floor though, a little startled to see that he had cracked a tile with his head.

"Talk!" she huffed, glaring him down until he began to squirm under that unfaltering glare.

Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, but he could tell by the look in her eyes that she was still furious. He knew he had to choose his words carefully. Watching the rise and fall of her chest, her breasts looking like they were about to spill out of that flimsy blue lacy number she had on, he sweated a bit, and gulped.

"I…" he began uncertainly.

"Well!" she cut him off.

"I don't know what this 'making love' thing you think I don't want to do is, I've never even heard of it. But if you explain it to me, I'll try to do it, I'll try really hard." he said hopefully.

And just like that she flung herself so hard into his arms it knocked the wind out of him. Man, was he ever going to understand how her mind works? Not knowing what to do, but still fearing another outburst, he snaked his arms around her and hugged her back. It had to be a good sign that she was holding him so tight, right?

"So you don't find me repulsive then?" she asked excitedly

"I don't know what repulsive is, but if it's a bad thing, then no, I don't." he said plainly, hoping against all hope that he was saying the right thing.

For the life of him, he still had no idea what had set her off in the first place.

"Ok," she mouthed against his chest, and started to loosen herself from their hug.

"I'm sorry I hit you" she said as she walked towards the bed and plopped herself down with both feet tucked underneath her thighs. She patted the mattress a few times, inviting him to sit next to her.

'Shoo', he thought to himself. Finally! He had said something right.

He sat down and took her hand, "I'm sorry I don't know all the things that a husband should know, but if you just give me a chance…"

"It's ok," she cut in "I don't know everything either, we can learn and figure everything out together, ok?"

"Ok" he concurred.

'Again with that weird feeling in my stomach' he thought.

There was just something about being close to her like this that put him on edge. He realised that his eyes had subconsciously settled on the rise and fall of her chest. There was just something about _them_ that he found mesmerizing, especially barely covered by that flimsy purple lace.

He suddenly had this overwhelming urge to squeeze them, and then flushed with embarrassment as he realized that those were the very same antics that had gotten his old master in trouble with women a million times. He had never had that urge before, why now?

"What'ya looking at?" he heard her ask and quickly darted his gaze away, afraid she was going to start yelling and hitting him for looking.

"I…er…sorry" he flushed bright red with embarrassment. "I didn't mean to…honest!" he defended, and was taken by complete surprise when he realised that instead of being angry with him, she was simply just looking at him curiously and smiling.

With her hand still in his, she lifted both their palms and settled them against her breast.

Eyes bulging, he looked between her face and his hand and began to feel the panic rise. What was she doing?

"It's ok, I want you to." she said shyly, avoiding his eyes.

"You do?" he asked incredulously

"Well, yes, don't you want to touch me?" she asked him, lifting her gaze to meet his bewildered one.

"I…" he started

"Don't you want to rub them, feel how soft they are?" she continued in a slightly lower tone.

"Don't you want to feel my body pressed against yours?" she stood up and straddled him.

He wasn't sure? Did he?

The only thing he knew for sure was that his body temperature was rising rapidly with these ministrations. She was rubbing her hands up and down his chest now.

"I.." he started to say, but only a coarse strangled sound came out. His throat, his lips were feeling excruciatingly dry. He licked his lips.

"Touch me" she whispered against his ear and despite the fact that he was terrified of these unfamiliar sensations she was evoking in him, he found, he was powerless not to comply. His hands moved of their own volition.

Travelling up her sides, they were immediately drawn to the mounds on her chest. He cupped both pieces of flesh in his hands and delighted in how soft they were, how perfectly they fit his large hands. He squeezed slightly, she arched back, a tiny moan escaped her throat.

He smiled.

He massaged and grazed his thumb across her nipples. He was still rubbing at the soft flesh when he suddenly felt two small hard protuberances emerge.

He looked at them wonderingly and raised a question with his eyes.

"It's ok, that happens when something really, really feels good" she said breathlessly.

"Bulma and Launch always got real mad when Master Roshi tried to touch them there" he added innocently.

"Making love is something that two people do when they are in a committed relationship, it's something they do to give each other pleasure"

"Pleasure, what's that exactly?" he said still staring at their hands against her breast.

And for the life of him, he really, really wanted to squeeze, just a little, but he dared not.

"It's something that feels really really good, and it's fun and exciting and exhilarating at the same time, you know what I mean" she asked hopefully.

"You mean like when you're fighting?" he asked, she smiled. Only Goku.

"Something like that" he smiled

"Cool, sounds like fun, so how can we get this pleasure then?" he asked enthusiastically.

"Well, we use our bodies you see, there is a special way that our bodies fit together, and when they do, it's supposed to be very pleasurable" she said, turning bright red at the thought of which _way_ that was exactly.

"Ok, so let's fit our bodies then, how do they 'fit' exactly?" he looked so innocent when he asked that question. She didn't really have a ready answer.

"Well…" she began "before anything can 'fit' together, we have to prepare our bodies, warm them up, make sure the right parts are ready. 'Oh god' she thought, 'what am I saying! I sound like I'm talking about fixing a car or something!'

"Like training before a battle" he said "I think I understand" he finished whilst nodding his head to confirm that it all made sense to him now.

"Yes, exactly like that" she said, feeling a tremendous sense of relief.

"So, if I touch you here" he squeezed ever so gently at her breast " does that count as a warm up?" he asked sincerely. Those black eyes piercing into hers.

"Yes," she said breathlessly "we can touch, and kiss and explore each others bodies until we're both warmed up" she finished, letting go of his hand, now that he seemed to be a bit more comfortable. His curiosity fully peaked, he quickly used his other hand to cup her other breast and with both hands squeezed a little harder. A soft sigh escaped her lips.

"Does it hurt?" he asked worriedly

"No, it's nice" she said and leaned in for a kiss.

The rest had resulted in her toes curling, as she lay panting and spent beside him.

That had been the first time he had felt like a god, he recalled, bringing himself back to the present, almost two decades after the effect.

Looking at her now, he couldn't reconcile that blushing bride with the hardened woman sitting on the rough mountain top, staring at nothing in particular. His heart felt like it was slowly being filled with cement, it infiltrated the veins, making the ventricles open and close slower, and slower until all that remained was a heavy rock solid mass, constricting his chest, making it hard to breathe.

He wanted her back, he realised, and keeping her here against her will was hardly going to win him any points. He had never had to woo a woman before, not even Chichi, she had simply come to him. But by the Kais in Otherworld, he would not give up, despite what she said, despite how she looked at him and despite how she reacted in his very presence. He would fix this, and anyone or anything that stood in his way be damned.

As she continued to rub her bare arms up and down from the chill, even whilst clasping her shoes, he felt a bit bad, the last thing he wanted was to make her sick medically speaking, it was quiet clear that it was too late for the other type.

Sighing, he scooped her up into his arms, her hands still holding on to her shoes and zoomed in the direction of Mt. Paouzu.

_**That's chapter 4!**_

_**I know I took liberties with their wedding, since Goku's friends were not actually there, but hey…**_

_**Please review and let me know how it's going so far, I'm trying really hard to make changes based on the reviews. I cut the flashback short, I think it served its purpose where I left it. **_

**Yaji's Girl**: Thank you so much for your last review, I'm glad that my attempt to lighten the mood some was not futile. I tried to do the same with chap 4, even though I didn't really move the story along much. I hope you will continue to read and enjoy this story. Thanx again.

**PassionCat**: I really, really didn't mean to leave it there for soooo long, especially since the chapter was already written. I'm glad you enjoyed the father- son moment, I did too. I felt that he needed it, with all the drama with his wife lol, and yeah, Gohans mind probably went in the gutter, what more now the she will be returning without her SHOES! Again, sorry to have taken forever with this chapter, especially coz it was just a continuation of the last one. The story will start to move along in the next one.

**Joy's Canvas**: Hi there, thanx for reading and reviewing, and sorry I took long to put this up. I promise you to update chap 5 sooner if your still reading, it's written, just needs a few touches here and there. It would be great to have a beta reader, have never had one for my stories before, how does it work exactly, do I just send you the chap?

**Saiyajin-Love:** I havnt checked, but I hope you've updated Love Lost, LOL, catching up on that story is my next order of business after I put up all my updates, two more stories to go. *sweats* Thank you ever so much for your review, I am glad that you are enjoying this story, and I'm sorry for the delay, as I have already said before, it was kinda accidental. I hope you enjoyed this one as well.

**HappyOrange:** Thanx so much for your support on this story!

**Kakarot Son:** HI! Wow, I feel like it's been eons since I've heard from you. I don't know where I have gone wrong with all my other stories that you were following, but I'm glad you like this one. Goku/Chichi are my favourite couple after all.

**megagenie**: thanx for reading and reviewing, I know you wanted to see more Goku Chichi action, there was some, just not sure it was the kind you wanted. LOL, there will be a lot of interractions between the two of them, and some interraction betweeen them and others as well. But there will always be some kind of flashback, I doubt any of the upcoming ones will be as long as this one though.

**The gangsta of love**: hi there, thanx for the support. We are not quiet there yet, hang in there.

**Kyra . Storms:** Hiya Kyra, Yeah, Chichi's pulling out the big ones, and she's just getting started LOL. Poor Goku! But you know I love him right? Right? LOL!

**Jrik23**: It's difficult to feel sorry for him in light of all he's done, but I guess, forgiveness is the hardest part.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:**

I feel terrible for keeping those of you who have been looking for an update waiting. One of my other stories has really monopolized my time, good thing it will be over soon so I can have more time for this one. I'm up to seven stories now…so yeah…not very smart.

**Gangsta of love:** I felt especially awful when I got your review for 'Still' the other day, especially when you said you kept on checking for updates regularly, I know how that goes with some of the stories that I'm following – it's not fun.

I didn't know you were reading some of the others as well, sorry for that

So here you are, an update…

**Disclaimer:** Dbz, don't own it, just love it!

**Chapter 5**

Her bare feet touched down on the grass, his arms still wrapped tightly around her. The flight from the mountain to the house didn't take long, but…her body had been betraying her the entire time. She literally had to fight herself to not succumb to the natural instinct to snuggle up to him.

How she hated him and his physical perfection.

She wasn't surprised by the curious eyes of friends and family that greeted their arrival, she could only guess at what they must be thinking at the picture they made. Her shoes were off, being held in her hands, her summer dress creased and crinkled, her short hair in disarray.

They could jump to whatever conclusions they wanted, it suited her plans just fine.

Krilin and Yamcha couldn't help but stare with their jaws on the floor at Chichi with her new look, the hair, the dress, the bare feet! They couldn't deny that she was pleasing to the eye.

"Mom, Dad! Grandpa's here!" Goten exclaimed, parting from the gathered group in a sprint to tackle his parents.

"They are?" Chichi cooed at her youngest, her face softening into an inquisitive smile as she scooped him up in her arms. It was so weird for her, to have Goten so little and carefree again.

"Aha…and so is Yamcha, and Krilin and that Mr from grandpas palace and um…that other new lady and…" he continued, pointing out all the people gathered casually outside. It looked like Gohan had taken the initiative and laid out some tables, chairs and a picnic blanket. He already had some food and drinks laid out as well.

"GOKU!"

"BUDDY!"

Krilin and Yamcha charged their friend excitedly; it was still a miracle to them that he was back for good.

"What's up you guys?" Goku greeted, reluctantly releasing Chichi from his hold, and trying to sound cheerful.

They would have embraced him enthusiastically, but, with Chichi so close and all, they refrained. They didn't want to get scolded, they knew how much she disapproved of them.

"Hi guys" Chichi surprised them by offering them a warm and genuine smile before she made her way to her father, Goten in her arms.

The lawyer was there, thankfully, and so was an elder looking lady in her fifties or so, whom she could only guess to be one of the palace maids.

"Hi papa" she smiled, kissing the large man on the cheek.

"Your hair!" Ox King gawked and pointed, Chichi had never changed her hair, not since she was a little girl.

"Tomo, so good to see you again" she dismissed her father's shock and smiled and kissed the family lawyer on the cheek

"Princess" he greeted, making a small curtsy, Chichi laughed, waving the formal greeting off

"Princess Chichi" the woman said shyly, making a small bow and a curtsy beautifully

"It's Chichi, please" she told her, 'she might do' she looked her over. Firm, but nice, her boys shouldn't be able to eat her alive.

"Chichi, this is Lamano, I brought her with as per your request" Ox King boomed, introducing the maid

"Let's go inside and talk, shall we?" she told the little group, as she put Goten on the ground "…sweetie, mommy and grandpa are going to talk about some boring stuff, you can go ahead and play with your daddy and his friends okay?" she patted his head

"Okay!" he beamed and started to sprint off, but then he came back again "…can I invite Trunks over?" he asked hopefully

"Don't worry, Trunks and Bulma are coming" she assured him, and watched with an aching heart as he raced back to his father. 'Oh Goten' she thought, remembering his distress when she had confused him with Goku. She had traumatized him with a lot of awful things, things a child should never ever have to hear a mother say. Shaking off the painful memories, she walked purposefully into the house, her father, lawyer and maid in tow.

Gohan was in the kitchen, piling up more snacks on platters. 'Such a sweetheart' she thought proudly.

"Mom you're back" he said, tossing an empty packet of crisps into the bin

"Yeah, I have some things to discuss with your grandpa and Tomo" she told him indicating the maid with a small pat on her shoulder "this is Lamano, she's going to be helping out around the house for a while, just show her the ropes and give her something to do, I'll brief her later, okay?" she said casually

Gohan looked at her, shocked. Not even when Goten was a baby did she take up the offer from his grandpa to have someone come in and help out. First the hair, now the maid…what was up with his mom?

"Uh…okay?" he said uncertainly, and watched as the other three adults disappeared out the kitchen.

Once they were settled in the small study, Ox King and Toma looked to Chichi expectantly.

"Papa, I know I've recused myself legally from my duties and obligations as the next in line. However, I've changed my mind, I've decided to take over from you when you retire" she said without ceremony

When her father had died, none of her sons had been interested in taking over the reins. The council he had appointed had fallen apart, slowly but surely the small kingdom had crumbled, breaking into civil war, as the council members bickered about the next successor. 

On his part, Ox King was too astounded to speak, at the most he had thought Chichi wanted to discuss the fund for Gohan's studies. He really doubted that Gohan would need it, the boy was probably going to have to choose between multiple full schorlaships.

"Toma, I know this entails a lot of work for you, but I need you to set this in motion as soon as possible" she continued, completely disregarding their shocked faces.

"Secondly, I need you to amend the terms of the children's trust funds, I think I've raised them well enough to be able to handle the responsibility before they turn thirty" she explained.

They still didn't speak

"Lastly, it goes without saying that I'll need a lot of guidance to learn the ropes, I don't expect to just waltz in and take over, I expect to meet with council members and others from governance from tomorrow. I also intend on setting up an academy for young girls in Fire Mountain, someone needs to teach them proper martial arts and other skills. I need you to allocate one of the palace wings for this" she finally finished.

"Toma, could you give us a minute?" Ox King dismissed the lawyer

"Of course, your majesty" he said, scrambling out of his chair

Chichi sighed at her fathers expression

"I don't expect you to understand any of this papa, so don't ask me to explain" she said, as soon as the door closed behind Toma

"Chichi, I'm confused, are you and Goku planning on taking over together?" he asked her, this had to be some kind of bizarre dream.

"Goku and I…no not exactly, I really have no idea what Goku intends to to with his life now that he's alive again." she told him

"Chichi, it's not that I don't think you capable of taking over from me, it's just that…your passion has always been your husband and your kids, the running of the kingdom is a full time job, a life-long commitment, are you sure you want to give up your life to be back in the service of others?" this was very, very confusing for him

"What life papa?" she asked him, throwing up her hands in exasperation "Gohan's going off to University soon, and Goten, Goten has always been independent and adventurous, he doesn't need me to coddle him, I don't want to hold him back by ostracizing him from society, I did it with Gohan, and I wish…I wish I had given him a bit more freedom" she regretted

"Chichi, I'm sitting here and I'm talking to you, but I feel like I'm talking to a complete stranger, tell me what's going on please" he begged

"I married a man who can never belong to me papa, he belongs to the world and it's time to face facts and let him go. I can't play this waiting game anymore, there has to be more to life than just waiting around, hoping that your husband and sons will come back from the battle field alive" she said bitterly

"But the world is at peace now" he argued

"Peace never lasts, you should know that by now" she shrugged

"And Goku? If he's not in this with you, they'll be very little time for the two of you. Is this what he wants as well?" he enquired

"I DON'T CARE WHAT HE WANTS!" she shouted suddenly, startling the poor Ox King, she was so sick and tired about everything being about Goku! She had given the man seventy years, and what did she get in return? Not a damn thing!

Ox King held up his hands defensively.

"I was just asking" he defended

"Alright, Trunks!" Goten beamed excitedly when his best friend Trunks and his mother stepped out of one of Bulma's hover cars.

"Took us long enough" Trunks muttered, if his mom would have just let him fly them over, they could have been here ages ago.

Goku, Gohan, Krilin and Yamcha were chatting about old times, Gohan always enjoyed hearing stories about their adventures.

"Hey guys" Bulma greeted happily, glad to see that she wasn't the only one that had decided to drop by and see Goku.

Lamano came out of the house carrying trays filled with food.

Goten and Trunks immidiately charged her, nearly making her topple over.

Goku was making a big show of following the conversation, but really, he was wondering what the little meeting with Chichi and her father was about. He remembered signing some papers briefly in the presence of that other guy on their wedding day, but beyond that, he didn't really know who he was. Gohan had just explained that the woman was one of the palace maids, here to help out, and that the guy was something called a 'lawyer', it all sounded rather dubious to him. He had this sinking feeling that Chichi was planning to leave them, why else would she want someone else helping around the house? She had never wanted anyone before.

When they came out of the house, Goku watched as the lawyer guy shook hands with Ox King and Chichi before decapsulating his car and taking off.

"Vegeta didn't come?" Chichi teased Bulma, walking towards the gathering

"You know him, still trying to surpass Goku" she said

Bulma rolled her eyes, until she noticed the new look

"Some things never change" Chichi smiled, joining the group and linking her arm with Bulma's.

"Apparently they do…Oh my goodness, Chichi, you look stunning!" she gaped, fully noticing the hair for the first-time

"So...Goku, what are you planning on doing now that Chichi will be gracing the palace walls so frequently?" Ox King asked good naturedly, the last thing he wanted was to stand around while the women ogled each others appearance

Goku gripped the soda can so tightly so fast, the flimsy container was crinkled, the carbonated drink spilling all over his hand. Chichi was really…leaving them?

"I was just telling dad that I'll be going to Fire Mountain every day from now on, you know, to learn the ropes, which is why Lamano is here, to take over all the housework" she threw in quickly, she didn't want to let on to the children that all was not well with their parents. And there was no telling how Goku would interpret the news that she was leaving.

"The ropes for what Chichi?" Bulma enquired, wondering what she'd missed

"I have a duty as a Princess you know, I've lived my life in peace and solitude out here, it's time to gear up for taking over the reins from papa" she said nonchalantly

Goku stared at her, she was planning to do what?

Gohan choked on a mouthful of marshmellows

"WHAT?" Bulma screached "since when?" she whirled around to gawk incredulously at her friend. Not once in all the seven year since Goten's birth, which is when they had truly started to get to know each other, had Chichi ever mentioned this.

"She also wants to start an academy for girls" Ox King pointed out

Gohan grimaced, poor girls! His mom was going to shove education down their throats! He could only sympathize with their looming doom

Krilin and Yamcha could imagine with horrid clarity, a bunch of bookworm graduates from Chichi's academy, turning up their noses disapprovingly at them, calling them dilinquients

Goku just continued to stare, it wasn't all bad…yet. She said going every morning, meaning she'd still be living at home.

He hadn't even realized that all his muscles had tensed up involuntarily at the thought that she was actually going to leave him.

"What on earth do you plan to teach?" Bulma asked fearfully, a picture of a whole kingdom filled with cooks flashing before her eyes

"Martial Arts" she said, shrugging

The entire group fell over

Goku was so shocked, he momentarily forgot his tension and had to clear his ear out with his finger. Martial what now? Chichi?

"Mom! You can't be serious!" Gohan berated

"And why not?" She glared, her arms folded over her chest

"B-because...b-because you always told me that martial arts was a waste of time!" Gohan blurted

"Everything has it's time and place, Gohan, don't forget, I made it all the way to the semi's in my day" she said "...and if anything should happen, those girls have a right to know how to protect themselves, we can't have a repeat of the council fallout, rogue men torching the streets, taking liberties with any innocent girls that happenend to cross their path" she said distastefully, rembering how much she had regretted not being in a position to help

"Err...Chichi, what are you talking about, what council?" Ox King asked, completely clueless

"Never mind" she waved her statement off "...this is suppossed to be a celebration, Gohan, honey, why don't you put some music on?" She asked him

Everyone stared, what had gotten into her?

A long while later, Goten and Trunks had taken off into the forest to spar, and Chichi and Bulma had separated from the men, for a bit of girl-talk. Bulma was filing Chichi in on her latest frustrations with Vegeta.

"Don't be so harsh on him Bulma, he may be rough around the edges, but...he's a good man" she said absently, remembering how Vegeta had stayed by Bulma's ailing and delirious bedside, until death had claimed her. Jelousy had never burned as fiercely as it had in Bulma's last days. She had hated Goku even more then, for having reduced her to being jealous of Bulma's husband of all people, an ex mass murderer!

"Who died and made you Vegeta's one man fan club?" Bulma asked her incredulously. She had been expecting Chichi to agree with her, telling her that it was her just dues for marrying a space pirate.

"Things are not always black and white, Bulma" she shrugged

Bulma eyed her friend curiously, there was definitely something…off about her, since yesterday in fact. She couldn't hold her tongue anymore.

"Chichi, I didn't want to bring it up, but...yesterday, I couldn't help but notice your...I don't know...lack of enthusiasm at Goku's arrival. And today, since I've been here, I've noticed him looking at you, but...you don't seem to acknoledge him at all. Is everything...is everything okay with you guys?" She asked hesitantly

"Everything's fine Bulma" she lied "...we can't just pick up where we left off after seven years you know, these things take time" she said

Bulma eyed her skeptically. Just the day before Goku's arrival, Chichi had been practically doing cartwheels in the air. They had gone shopping, she had even insisted on a facial. What could have happened in one short day to dampen her spirits?

They had been so busy with their girl talk, they almost missed the commotion.

Almost.

"What's going on?" Bulma shouted in the direction of the boys, running towards them, when they suddenly and without warning, witnessed the stern looks on Goku and Gohan's faces before they suddenly disappeared via instant transmission.

"Mr Satan called, apparently something happened to Videl" Yamcha volunteered

Chichi's world stopped.

No, no, no…it couldn't be, nothing was supposed to happen to anyone today, NOTHING!

"What happened?" she asked urgently

"We don't know, Mr Satan spoke to Gohan, he was frantic, and then Gohan's face, I don't know, but something serious" Krilin said

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Chichi shouted, grabbing poor Krilin by his shirt, his legs dangling on the ground

"NOTHING HAPPENS TO VIDEL TODAY, NOTHING!" she screamed at the shorter man, more to convince herself than anything else

Krilin just gulped, and sighed in relief when Ox King intervened and yanked her off of him

"Chichi calm down, we don't even know what's happened yet" he told her

"Let's check the news you guys, Videl's exploits are always on the news" Yamcha volunteered

Without another word, Chichi left them in the dust

The news was bad, it was very bad.

It was on every channel

…_**trying to rescue passengers on a long distance bus that lost control over the Kwena Mountains, seven passengers made it out in time, everyone else, including Ms Satan was caught in the explosion that followed soon after. Medics on the scene have confirmed the tragic news…**_

_**Ms Satan is dead.**_

Chichi stared disbelievingly at the screen, her hand covering her mouth. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move, this was…this was…impossible!

She felt it then, the familiar clouding of the mind, the spinning, the sudden appearance of random and angry colours, lashing out at her. Instinctively she shut her eyes, protecting them from the intrusive colours.

And then that _voice,_ that voice came back…_thisisyourfault thisisyourfault thisisyourfault thisisyourfault_ it chanted accusingly, over and over again.

Just as it had chanted that if was _her_ fault that Goku took off on Shenron's back.

She was spinning; she could feel it, faster and faster, making her even more and more dizzy, the motion upsetting her stomach.

She covered her ears with her hands to stop the _voice_, beads of sweat were already forming on her forehead.

"NO! NO! NO!" she screamed,

"STOP IT, JUST STOP IT!" on her knees, hands covering her ears protectively, begging the colours, the voice, the dizziness to leave her alone. She couldn't afford to have another melt-down, she just couldn't.

"Stop it, Chichi stop this!" Ox King's loud voice permeated through the fog of psychosis

Yamcha and Krilin just stood a ways off, this was a bit…scary

Bulma had tried to pry Chichi's hands off her ears, but the younger woman had shoved her violently off.

"You have to calm down Chichi, you have to calm down!" Ox King shook her

"I…I…you don't understand papa, I…this is my fault, this is my entire fault" she whispered, her pale, streaked with tears, absolutely despondent

"Chichi, you're not making any sense, this was an accident, an accident that happened miles from here, it's not anyone's fault. You have to get a hold of yourself" he tried to reason with her. Chichi had never been one to cope with bad news, but this was…downright disturbing for him to watch

"IT _IS_ MY FAULT!" she screamed, trying her level best to yank her wrists out of her father's strong grip.

'Damn it, don't they understand!' she thought angrily, her yes blazing dangerously, wild like a crazy person

"Chichi, I know you were hoping that Videl and Gohan would get together, but honey you hardly knew the girl, please, try to calm down, if the boys come and see you like this…" Bulma tried to reason

"I killed her, I killed them…Videl…Pan…Gohan Jr…the twins" she began to babble, tears pouring down her face

"Chichi, pull yourself together, who are you talking about? Gohan Jr, who are you talking about?" Ox King tried to get through to her

"You don't understand, none of you understand, this is…this is my fault…I…I wasn't supposed to know that you were coming today" she ranted, clutching her head, shaking it violently from side to side "I…I wasn't supposed to go out and get food and I…I was supposed to send Gohan when everyone arrived, and on his way back he…he was supposed to stop that bus" she continued to rant hysterically, talking faster than they could keep up with her

"Videl…she…she wasn't supposed to be there, don't you understand…Gohan caught that bus, with his bare hands, he caught that bus…it didn't crash, he caught it…and he was late with the groceries and I shouted at him and…Videl wasn't supposed to be there, she wasn't supposed…she wasn't supposed…" she couldn't even finish her explanation. They didn't get it, none of them got it!

She knew though, she knew exactly how things were supposed to have played out that day…

They had spent the entire morning in bed. It was so good to have someone to share it with once again. It was still a miracle to her that all she had to do was reach out, and Goku's perfect form would brush against her finger-tips.

"We should have another baby Chi, a little girl, can you imagine? She'd be the strongest little girl in the world!" Goku fantasized

Chichi's heart fluttered at the thought. Once upon a time she had wanted a big family, but when Goku died…she had been content with her two boys, but now…there was opportunity once again.

"She would be perfect, I can just see her" she fantasized

"We can call her Baba" he murmured, brushing her neck lightly with his lips

Chichi shoved him off, violently

"Are you crazy?" she shrieked

Goku laughed out loud, the expression on Chichi's face was priceless

"You big oaf!" she scolded him, hitting him on the chest playfully "…that wasn't funny!" she said, laughing

Goku grinned, his heart filling with an incomparable emotion.

Otherworld paled in comparisson to this

Impulsively he flipped her over and pinned her arms to the pillow. She was slightly startled; her eyes shining at him. He could be so fast with his maneuvers, when he wanted.

"What?" she said, when all he did was stare

There was something in his eyes, she couldn't explain it, but she was sure that there wasn't a woman in the world who had ever been on the receiving end of such an all consuming look.

"They're right you know, my friends, I'm one lucky son of a bitch" he said, grinning down at her

"Goku!" she said "language!" she giggled

"Chi…I…I…meant what I said last night, I'm really…"

"Shh…" she cut him off, placing her index finger on his lips. They had hashed out their issues at length the night before, she didn't want to rehash them again this morning, she was just too…happy

"That baby girl is never going to come at this rate Mr, you talk too much" she told him, her face breaking into a smile

"You don't have to tell me twice" he murmured, lowering his face back to her neck

A soft knock on the door made the two lovers giggle and cover themselves.

"Come in" Chichi said, her face radiant, her long dark hair in total disarray

Gohan's red face popped in through the small crack

"Um…dad, Bulma, Krilin and Yamcha are here, what should I tell them?" he asked embarrassed

"Um…gee Gohan, I guess we'll come out now" Goku said. Gohan just nodded and hurriedly closed the door behind his parents. Honestly, he wasn't a kid anymore; he knew exactly what they had been up to the whole day!

"Gohan, I can't believe there isn't a scrap of food left in this kitchen, honestly!" Chichi shrieked as she found each and every single cupboard empty

"We were hungry" Gohan defended

"Urg, and now with your father back, I'll have to do ten times the amount of shopping" she said, slamming the last empty cupboard

Gohan shrugged, it's not his fault, they were hungry!

"Okay Mister, off to the shops you go, and take a capsule so you can get stuff for tomorrow as well, your fathers friends wont each much, but between you, Goku and Goten…Dende help me" she said, jotting down a few items on the list

"Now you hurry back you here, I can't even offer those bums anything to drink, and that's just unbecoming" she shooed him off

"I'll be back in a jiffy mom!" he shouted, taking off in that ridiculous costume that Chichi only tolerated cause it made him so happy

To her chagrin, it hadn't been a 'jiffy' at all.

"I was about to send your father after you Gohan, what took you so long?" she huffed

"I kinda had to stop a bus from toppling over the side of Kwena Mountain on my way back, sorry mom" he said sheepishly

"There's always some lame excuse with you, you're just like your father, sorry Chi, had to save this, had to save that…urgh…would it kill you to let the world take care of itself once in a while?" she scolded

Gohan just hung his head

"Don't just stand there, put that super alien speed of yours to good use, and help me chop some of these damn vegetables!" she fussed about

And that had been that. The rest of the afternoon had passed without a hitch.

Videl and Gohan had gone to school the next day.

No, they didn't understand, how could they?

This was her fault. One little deviation from the original sequence of events, one lousy little trip to the shops, one lousy little haircut and…she had killed them all.

Videl

Pan

Gohan Jr

The twins

Not to mention all the other people on the bus.

It was too much, it was just too much to bear, the responsibility, the knowledge that her actions had caused it.

She crumpled to the floor and collapsed, leaving a shocked and confused audience to panic at her fall.

_**That's chapter five you guys, please leave a review and let me know what you think. **_


	6. Chapter 6

**AN:**

Thanks for that feedback, for anyone who doesn't know, I'm a total review whore. Here is an update, and here is to hoping to hear from you again.

**Disclaimer:** Too bad drawing is more in your dna than an acquired skill, if I could draw, I would declare myself the creator of dbz.

Chapter 6

The morgue was such a morbid place. The silence was eerie, the walls were white, and the cold air blowing from the air conditioning was downright…chilling.

"You can bring her back, right?" Hercule begged him for the millionth time "…right?" he pleaded, holding on to Goku's gi for dear life.

Goku was at a loss. The man was so distraught, it was breaking his heart. Well, what was left of it that is. Chichi had broken a big chunk of it that morning, and now Gohan and Hercule…

'Gohan' he thought bleakly, turning his eyes from the desperate Hercule back to Gohan.

He could safely say that he had never seen his son like this before. He was still sitting on the cold morgue floor, his back against the wall, his hands covering his face, while he rocked himself to and fro in denial.

Goku had witnessed a lot of terrible things in his life, he had experienced more than his fair share of horrors, but Videl's body, burnt and black from the explosion, completely charred to near disintegration, was worse than arriving on Namek to find his four year old son lying on the ground with a broken neck.

Thank goodness shock and denial were just about the only emotions his son was displaying. If he went into a rage…he would hate to have to knock him unconscious to keep him restrained, should he lose it.

The pressure on his gi was getting stronger, tigher…more desperate

"Right Goku? You can bring back my baby girl, right?" Hercule continued to insist, he wouldn't allow himself to think of anything else, certainly not the body he had seen

"Mr Satan…it's not that simple, I…the dragonballs still need six more months to recharge, and Videl has died before…Shenlong's power is limited…I don't know what to tell you" Goku said bleakly

"You have to, you have to bring her back, she's my baby girl, she's all I have, I need her, the world needs her, I know you can bring her back, you and those freaky friends of yours, you can do anything, right?" he insisted, gripping the gi tighter

Goku realized with painful clarity that he was not equipped to deal with this situation. 'I should get Gohan back to Chichi' he decided. 'She'll know what to do'

"Mr Satan, please, I have to get Gohan out of this place, look come with us okay? We'll try to figure something out for Videl" he tried to reassure the man

With the hysterical champ still gripping on his clothes, Goku squatted down to his sons level

"Gohan" he said gently, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, "…come on son, let's go…"

Gohan didn't really respond, he just continued to shake his head in denial, his face drained of all colour from the shock of the horrific sight

"We can't stay here son, let's go home and come up with a plan" he tried again

"WHAT PLAN DAD?" Gohan exploded, reassuring Goku that he was still lucid, albeit, distraught "…she was just wished back yesterday, we all were…and Shenlong…it will take six months to summon him, SIX MONTHS…" he croaked "…and he still might not have the power…and…the Namekian dragonballs take one hundred and thirty earth days to regenerate, there is no PLAN!" he sobbed

"He's wrong right Goku, you can fix this right? You can fix anything, right Goku?" Hercule implored him, refusing to believe that his daughter was actually dead. Just yesterday, he had witnessed with his own eyes how these super-powerful freaks could do the impossible. They just had to pull through for Videl, they just had to!

'If I could fix anything, I wouldn't have a wife that hates my guts' he thought bleakly, feeling that immeasurable weight of the world on his shoulders again.

It was always _him,_ everyone always looked to _him._ Even the Kais themselves didn't have so much hope pinned upon them, they looked to him as well when they came up short. He was just a mortal being, not an omnipotent savior.

It was and would always be on _him._

"Hold on you guys, I'm getting us out of here" he told them, clearly he wasn't going to get through to them with words alone.

A few seconds later, he materialized back in his house with Gohan and Hercule, both a bit disoriented from the transmission, and their grief.

He was startled by the sight that greeted him.

Ox King, Krilin and Yamcha were trying very hard to restrain Chichi. She had visible nail marks on her skin.

What the? What were they trying to restrain her from doing?

He took note of Bulma and Lamano's white, startled and frightened faces.

"What's going on?" he asked, on the verge of panicking himself. Hercule was still clutching on to him, though now, he wasn't certain if it was still out of sheer desperation at his recent loss or out of desperation to stay clear of the obviously enraged Chichi.

And then there was Gohan…Gohan hadn't really acknowledged the change in location. He had materialized next to Goku, still sitting on the floor, still covering his face with his hands, still shocked, still grief stricken and still in complete denial.

No one volunteered any information.

"What's going on you guys?" he asked again, a bit more worriedly, but definitely more sternly

Chichi continued thrashing and writhing, her eyes…they just didn't look right

"Goku, you have to restrain her, she's gone completely insane, she's not even making any sense and she was…really hurting herself" Bulma volunteered, disturbed to the core

Just then Chichi sank her teeth painfully into Yamcha's hand while twisting her body to throw out a vicious kick at her father.

"Crap!" Yamcha cursed at the pain, but kept his hold. Effortlessly, Ox King caught her ankles and bound them together.

Goku closed his eyes for a second to take a breath. He felt like his world was spiraling out of control. This was definitely not what he had in mind when he had fantasized about quality time with friends and family.

Calmly he escorted Hercule to sit down, forcibly removing his hold on his clothes.

"My little girl" the champ was still whimpering to no one in particular

Goku stole a glance at Gohan…no change there, it was as if he hadn't even realized that they had moved from the morgue, and that his mother was…he decided to deal with Chichi first, she was the most hysterical of the three.

Easily, despite her wild protests, he took one wrist from Yamcha and one from Krilin and easily locked them in his one hand. Opening his legs slightly he pinned her legs between them, allowing Ox King to let go.

Krilin, Yamcha and Ox King sighed in relief as they retreated from her. They were visibly sweating from all the effort it had taken to restrain her once she had opened her crazy eyes after collapsing.

"LOOK AT YOUR SON! LOOK AT YOUR SON!" he told her sternly "he needs you right now, you HAVE to snap out of it, you have to snap out of it Chi" he told her.

He didn't really know what her particular problem was, he didn't know what Bulma had meant when she had said that 'she tried to hurt herself' and he definitely didn't know what nonsensical things she had been saying, but…first thing was first…Gohan needed attention.

His stern words forced Chichi to come out of her psychotic fog for a second, those overbearingly protective mother's instincts on steroids came rushing at her immediately at the pitiful sight that was her baby boy.

'Oh Gohan' she thought, 'this is all my fault' she berated herself for the hundredth time.

Satisfied that she was calm enough to take over, he turned to his friends.

"I'm sorry you guys, I think…I think it would be best to let us deal with this as a family" he told them

Krilin and Yamcha nodded, they didn't need to be told twice. Chichi was just outright dangerous! Especially since they couldn't exactly defend themselves against her, she was Goku's wife!

The maid didn't need to be told twice either. She made a very quick exist. It was unseemly to witness such an undignified display from one of the members of the royal family. The Princess should heed her station and let her emotions go only in private.

"Bulma" Goku said "…could you take Goten?" he asked her

"Yeah, of course, no problem…I'll…um…call you" she said, making her way out the door with Yamcha and Krilin.

Hercule didn't really move, and Chichi was already embracing her son, murmuring words of comfort.

"Look at me Gohan, look at me" she said, cupping his face, forcing it to look at her "…I promise you, your father is going to fix this, he'll bring her back, nice and safe, I promise" she kept telling him

Goku gaped at her, how in the world was he going to accomplish that? How could she promise him that? She knew the limitations of the dragons, she knew there was a waiting period facing them.

"Mom, he can't…he can't…we just used the dragonballs, she's gone mom, she's gone…" Gohan cried

"Listen to me sweetheart, when Krilin died, long before you were born, Goku made Kami recharge the dragonballs prematurely to wish him back. Nothing's impossible with those oversized dragons, nothing" she assured him, her eyes fixed on Goku, as if daring him to say otherwise.

Goku gulped, true, Kami had done him that favour, it was so long ago, he had almost forgotten about it. How did Chichi even know about that?

But Porunga had just granted some monumental wishes, would the Namekian elders be able to recharge the dragonballs prematurely to grant them this wish? He didn't know, and he never made a promise he didn't intend to keep.

"Is that true dad?" Gohan asked hopefully, as it was, he would never be able to forgive himself for not being there for Videl, if only…if only there was a way to bring her back, he wouldn't waste another second holding in his feelings. Twice she had died, and she still didn't know how he felt about her.

Hercule looked to Goku hopefully as well.

Goku bit his lip at all the eyes fixed on him.

The weight of the world

The hopes of his wife and son

The life of a young girl

All resting heavily on his shoulders

"I…I don't know Gohan, Kami did it once, so maybe Moori can do it too, I really don't know" he said honestly, rubbing his temples

"He better!" Chichi threw in. She would really like to give that Porunga a piece of her mind whilst they were at it. This whole mess was his doing. How dare he go around erasing people's memories, reversing the very fabric of time itself?

"Chichi, we can't be sure of anything right now…I'll go and see…and I'll…" he began to explain

"I'm coming with you" she declared

"I don't think that's such a good idea Chichi" he knew her temper, he didn't really want to aggravate the peaceful Nameks

"I'm coming too" Gohan said, the look in his eyes leaving no room for argument

"I'm coming as well" Mr Satan declared

Goku wanted to protest, but the look on Chichi's face shot him down immediately

"Then we should go" he said, defeated

The talks with the Namekians were long and hard, it didn't help that Chichi kept threatening them. Nor did it help that Gohan kept losing his temper, making the whole planet quiver with each tantrum, and it definitely didn't help that Hercule kept backing up the duo, adding more insult to injury.

In the end, the trip had been fruitless, Moori was not the original creator of Porunga, he simply couldn't do it, Porunga was just too powerful a dragon, he needed the full Namekian year, which was equivalent to one hundred and thirty earth days to recharge.

There was nothing he could do

Goku had to transmit everyone off planet fast, especially before Chichi could land a punch, advisably before Gohan could cause enough quakes to split the planet in two, and definitely before Hercule could fload it with tears.

Materializing back home, Goku was fearing the worst, Chichi already hated him, and now…after this failure, he didn't even want to look at her, lest her hateful glare ignited him to instantaneously combust.

To his surprise though, she seemed rather calm and contemplative, unlike Gohan and Hercule who had gone back to empty despair.

"Right" Chichi said, "I guess there's nothing to it, it's time for plan b" she told them.

The three of them stared at her, plan b? She had a plan b?

"Don't ask me how I know, but there is another set of dragonballs on the lookout, the black-star dragonballs" she informed them

"The what?" Goku asked her, what was she on about now, was this part of that nonsensical stuff that Bulma had mentioned?

"There's a catch to using them though, but nothing _you_ can't handle I'm sure" she said, talking directly to Goku

"What black-star dragonballs, what catch?" he asked, utterly confused

"After using them, we'll have one year to gather them again and assemble them in one place or…the world will explode" she said calmly

"!"

Goku just stared at her blankly. He couldn't decide if she'd gone completely insane or if he was hearing things. What in the name of all that was good was she talking about?

Gohan had no such qualms believing his mother though, he would take any little bit of hope he could get.

"That shouldn't be a problem, with Bulma's radar and dad's abilities we should have them gathered in less than a day, how come we didn't know about these dragonballs?" Gohan said, once more allowing himself to indulge in a bout of hope

"It's complicated sweetheart, don't worry yourself with the details. The only thing we really have to concern ourselves with is…gathering them up. It won't be as simple as using Bulma's radar and your fathers abilities. After the wish, they won't scatter around the planet like the normal orange star balls, they'll scatter to the far corners of the universe" she informed them

"Chichi, I think we need to stick to reality here, these so called dragonball…" Goku began, not convinced at all by this little story, maybe Chichi was really going crazy

"Just ask Piccolo, he'll tell you all about them, we're wasting precious time here, we should go and talk to him as soon as possible" she said

"Wouldn't Dende be the one to ask, after all, he's the guardian now, and if there are dragonballs up there…" Gohan reasoned

"No, Dende doesn't even know about them, they are before his time. Mr Popo does though, we could talk to him if you wish to avoid Piccolo" she said

Goku was watching her carefully as she calmly took matters into her own hands. He didn't really know what to think of this woman, she was Chichi, but then again, she really…wasn't.

"Chi…are you serious about this, I mean, you're not just making this up to give Gohan hope are you?" he whispered for her ears alone

"Honestly, Goku, what do you take me for? Leading people on is your specialty, not mine, now stop stalling, let's get going" she told him, taking offence at his remark

Later at the lookout, a fully fledged argument had broken out, Mr Popo was aghast, first that they even knew about the black-star dragonballs, and secondly that they wanted to use them, despite the potential consequences.

Piccolo was just quiet. It would be reckless and ill advised to use them, but…if Gohan really wanted this Satan girl alive…if her death was so painful for him…then…he couldn't deny him, he'd offer the world on a silver platter if it made him happy. That's just how soft he had become.

Dende knew it was a bad idea, but he also knew that if Piccolo gave the okay, he could hardly stop them. What he really wanted to know was why he hadn't been told about such a potentially dangerous thing!

Despite Mr Popo's protests, in the end, the group from Mt Paouzu prevailed. The black-star balls were retrieved, and Piccolo handed them to Gohan himself.

He fixed his eyes on him as he spoke.

"This is the single most reckless decision of your life Gohan, I hope you know what you're doing, I hope this girl is worth it, and I hope you know that the fate of this world will rest on your shoulders once again, and if you fail…" he told him

"Of course they're worth it!" Chichi yelled at him

"Them?" Goku asked her, more than once now, Chichi would refer to _them_, not her, but _them._

"Of course, all those people that died in that horrible crash" she lied. Naturally she felt bad about them as well, but really, she just wanted her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren to be born.

"Go ahead son, summon the dragon" Goku said. He had mixed feelings about this plan. To put the whole planet in jeopardy, it was more than reckless, but…if it had been Chichi, he wouldn't have asked for anyone's permission, he would have snatched the dragonballs, made his wish, consequences be damned!

"Wait!" Mr Satan interrupted, "shouldn't we bring her here…I mean, it might be a bit creepy if she woke up in that shelf, in the morgue, I mean…" he trailed off, just the thought of it, running shivers down his spine

"Right" Gohan agreed, "Um…dad…you wouldn't happen to remember the ki signature of that pathologist would you?" he asked his father hopefully

"Pathlo-what?" Goku asked, confused by the terminology

"The doctor dad, that doctor that showed us the b…uh…Videl" he said, he really, really didn't want to think about her as a body, especially _that _body

"Right" Goku said, before he disappeared

It didn't take him long before he appeared with her body, carefully wrapped from head to toe in a white sheet. Gently he placed her on the ground.

It was time to summon the dragon.

Hours after Videl's resurrection, Chichi stood leaning against the rails of Bulma's balcony, she was engrossed in thought, busily contemplating the events of the day. One lousy change to the original flow of events and the consequences had been catastrophic.

She had lost it there for a while, seeping back into her mental breakdown. She shuddered at the thought. Goku had managed to keep her grounded by redirecting her attention to their son. Thankfully it had worked, she had been able to return to herself, and she had also been able to use her knowledge of the future to their advantage.

Videl, Pan, Gohan Jr and the twins were saved, but…now the whole planet was in danger.

After a lengthy and heart-felt reunion between Gohan and Videl at the lookout, they had all come to Capsule Corp to inform Bulma of the developments as well as to ask for a spaceship.

Bulma had been shocked to say the least, but…her mind and her determination had never faltered, she already had her best team of engineers, as well as her father on the job.

The clock was ticking, and the crew was once again burdened by the colossal responsibility of saving the world.

Sighing, she wished she could get in touch with her future therapist, but she supposed, the doctor that had saved her sanity when her world had turned dark, was just a boy at most in the present time. He wouldn't be able to help her, no one could.

With Gohan and Videl determined to go with Goku on this space adventure to save the planet, she found that she had no choice. She had to tell them what she knew. They had to be prepared, especially if they encountered the likes of General Rilldo and the rest of the space bums that had kept Goku, Trunks and Pan busy on that ill advised adventure.

She knew Videl well enough to know that she couldn't persuade her to stay behind on this mission, especially considering that it was for her life that the planet was in jeopardy. The poor girl felt flattered, but terrible at the same time, the knowledge that Gohan had put her life above the safety of the entire planet, was undeniably a hell of a thing to digest.

This is not how things were originally supposed to progress between them, but it was too late, the butterfly effect had rippled further than she could have ever imagined. The future that she knew was officially dead, and not just for her, but for the entire planet as well.

It shocked her to the core to hear a little voice in her say that she could re-write her entire future with Goku, she could manipulate the situation to ensure that he never left her side. How could she still be secretly harbouring feelings of a happily ever after with a man that had crippled her emotions so?

Sighing, she dismissed her conflicted emotions. It was time to tell Goku the truth.

With this trip into space, she really had no choice, they had to be prepared, they had to have a plan, with that abomination Baby out there, Gohan and Videl's lives could very well depend on it.

She was about to turn around and head back inside to find him, when she felt his presence behind her.

"Chi…I know I'm not your favourite person at the moment, but…please can we talk, please just…just talk to me" he said, treading carefully with his words, he really didn't want to leave for space with so much hanging in the air between them

"No, let's not talk" Chichi told him "What I have to say to you, would take too long, and frankly I don't have the emotional energy for it…I'm just going to sit down here on this recliner, and let you discover the answers for yourself" she told him tiredly

"Discover the answers?" he asked her "…what answers?"

"There's so much you have to know before you take this trip Goku, so, so much…I wouldn't even know where to begin, so…just do that creepy mind reading thing of yours and get this conversation over and done with, god knows keeping these secrets has done enough damage in one day" she said, taking a seat on one of the balcony chairs

"Secrets? What secrets?" he asked apprehensively,

"JUST DO IT ALREADY!" she shouted, frustrated by his lack of action! Here she was, granting him full access to her mind, and he was still asking stupid questions!

Goku gulped nervously, as he took the other balcony chair beside Chichi's. He watched as she reclined fully on the chair, making herself comfortable. The small breeze making small ripples in her short hair.

She even closed her eyes and released a long breath.

Goku bit his lip nervously as he reached out with his hand. It had been a long time since he'd read someone like this. He closed his eyes as his palm rested comfortably on the top of Chichi's head.

The memories came to him piece by piece, from latest to first. He was confused by them at first, the memories appeared to be of someone other than Chcihi, but as they continued to come to him, slowly and shockingly, he began to understand what he was seeing.

It was impossible

It was shocking

It was heartbreaking

And it shook him to the core.

Sweating and trembling from over fifty years worth of startling memories, his head was full, his brain barely possessing the capacity to process it all.

Shakily he removed his hand from her head and rubbed down hard on the base of his mouth and chin.

A heavy ball of lead had taken form in his stomach

He would have given anything to have the world open up and swallow him, to not have to face her, to not have to face up to his crimes…but…he had never been a coward.

Reluctantly he opened his eyes, only to come face to face with hers. They were wide open, staring, accusingly, and just as hatefully as before.

He had aged in those few minutes, it was sickening.

The truth was brutal, she truly did hate him, nothing would ever be the same again.

"So now you know" she said simply

With those words, the quiet fear gripped him, as he also realized that, without his own memories to fall back on, he had no idea why he had made the decisions that he had seen from Chichi's perspective

"So now I know" he whispered

_That's chapter 6 you guys, if you're following this story, please give me some feedback, and let me know what you think so far. I need another reason to stay up late at night editing the next chapter._


	7. Chapter 7

AN:

You guys, I've been so inspired to update from all your feedback, I hope I can keep some form of balance though, with my other fics, cause right now, this one seems to be monopolizing my time!

I can't thank you enough for your feedback

Here is that update

Chapter 7

_**Previously on: When Worlds Collide**_

_The truth was brutal, she truly did hate him, nothing would ever be the same again._

"_So now you know" she said simply_

_With those words, the quiet fear gripped him, as he also realized that, without his own memories to fall back on, he had no idea why he had made the decisions that he had seen from Chichi's perspective_

"_So now I know" he whispered_

Chichi was glad to see the anguish evident on his face. She felt slightly, only slightly…better. 'Let him suffer a bit' she thought vindictively 'let him stew in the face of the ugly truth. Let him beg and grovel for my forgiveness, for the forgiveness of his children, grand-children, and great-grandchildren that he never got to meet. Let him face the bitter truth of my reality, my pain and loneliness, and heaven willing, let him choke on it' she thought with satisfaction.

There were so many memories, so many to sort out, so many to try and make sense out of but…one memory in particular kept him paralyzed with guilt. One memory in particular made the memory gap in his mind insufferable, impossible to bear. How could he begin to explain himself, when he didn't remember any of it?

And as he sat on that balcony chair, watching her, as she watched him, that memory kept replaying itself over and over again, repeatedly… just to torture him.

A man that looked disturbingly like him, albeit with much shorter hair devoid of spikes, walked through the front door of their home in Mt. Paozu, shrugging off his rain-coat, and leaving his muddy boots at the door.

"Mom, look what I brought?" he called out, producing a small gift wrapped package from inside his heavy winter coat.

"Goku?" a woman called out.

Her hair was whip straight, brushed away from her face, completely exposing her forehead and trimmed down neatly up to her neck. They were not abundant, but a bunch of white streaks were visible here and there. She was still beautiful, though her face had changed. It was much thinner, with the mouth, the eyes and the forehead creased slightly with wrinkles.

She was wearing purple fleece pajamas and a thick white robe tied into a bow around her tiny waist, while her curious toes peeked out from the front of her fluffy slippers.

"Goku?" she called out again, her voice slightly shaky

The man visibly frowned at the reference, his cheerful demeanor disappearing instantaneously.

"It's me mom, Goten" he corrected, something stern taking over his voice

"Oh Goku, is it really you? Look at you! What did you do to your hair?" the woman said, stepping closer to the man, a far-away look on her face.

"Mom…it's me Goten…it's Goten" the man explained again

"Oh Goku" she cried, throwing herself into his arms "…you've grown out of that little boy's body and…oh my…you're just as handsome as handsome can be!" she stepped back from him a bit, her cheeks gaining just a bit of pink colour "…I knew you'd come back to me…" she told him, cupping his face lovingly.

Before he knew what had hit him, the woman was already planting passionate kisses on any piece of exposed flesh she could find

"Mom…please…it's me mom, it's Goten…stop this, I'm not dad" the man said painfully, pulling the woman off of him.

"Oh Goku, don't push me away, please…I've been so lonely, I've missed you so much…please Goku…" she cried, trying to get close to him, but he held her away, he held her at arms length

Her lower lip trembled pitifully from his rejection, as her face filled with despair.

The man fisted his hair in frustration before taking in a long breath.

He sighed and put on a smile

"I brought you a present from the kids mom, don't you want to see it? Look…" he said, directing her eyes to the gift he'd brought "…look how they've spelt your name, isn't that impressive?" he tried to distract her

"Oh Goku, you shouldn't have…really…I don't need fancy presents, I'm just so happy you're finally home, it's been so long…I…" she said, her eyes glazing over as she began to untie the sashes of her robe "…Make love to me Goku, outside by the river, just like we used to when we first got married remember?" she said, bringing her hands to her chest where the robe hung parted, as she started to unbutton her pajama top.

The man's face lost all colour.

"Mom please…" he choked painfully, quickly removing her hands from her top and tying back her sash.

Fearfully he stepped away from her. He was obviously distraught

"I have to go" he said, putting the little gift unceremoniously on the table, his face as white as a sheet

The woman's face contorted with shock

"Y-you're leaving, y-you're leaving me…again?" she said in disbelief, the despair evident in her voice

"Mom…please…snap out of this, y-you're breaking my heart mom, you're breaking my heart…" he said more to himself than to the trembling woman

"URGH!" she suddenly screamed, that far away look being replaced by fury "…YOU'RE LEAVING ME? AGAIN?" she screamed, tears falling from her eyes, fists clenched on her sides

"AGAIN? How could you do this to me? Is it the wrinkles Goku? Am I too old now is that it? You've found yourself some young new woman to warm your bed so I'm dispensable?"

Luckily the man's reflexes were quick enough to avoid the chair that she suddenly picked up without effort and tossed at him

"Fourty years of marriage Goku, I've…I've been a good wife, I've done everything for you. Given up everything for you, raised your children practically by myself…I…I've waited for you, remained faithful to you…and you…you…you never loved me, after all that time you just…you never truly loved me and…and it hurts so much…forty years…forty years.." she faltered, turning from the man's bleak expression

The man watched as she walked away from him, headed in the direction of the kitchen, only to return moments later, holding a paring knife expertly in her hand.

He backed away from her, there was something…not right about the look in her eyes.

"I'm sorry Goku, I just…I just can't bear to have you walk away from me again. I just…I just can't" she said calmly.

Too calmly

He wasn't fast enough to catch her swift movement. She stabbed herself directly in the chest, her eyes opening wide, the blood pooling thickly from the wound.

The man was fast enough to catch her before she hit the floor, her eyes were still open, a lone tear cascading slowly down her cheek

"It hurts…" she said, before she closed her eyes

The memory stopped there, the moment she had lost consciousness

The next memory was foggy

Voices were murmuring around the woman as she opened her eyes. She couldn't move she realized, but physically, she felt fine…

"The sensu beans can't protect her from the ghosts in her own mind Gohan, she needs supervision, we can't leave her alone in that house to try this again" Goten said

"She can move in with me, she can take Pan's old room, I can't leave her in a place like this Goten, I just can't" a voice he recognized as Gohan's said

"Wake up!" Goten shouted sternly "…she needs help, professional help, help that not even you…_Mr_ _perfect son,_ cangive her" he snapped at his brother

Gohan decided to ignore the little snide remark about being the perfect son

"I'm sure we can arrange it so that this doctor can treat her at home" Gohan said stubbornly

"He doesn't make house calls Gohan, he's the best in his field, he takes in patients on his own terms! A bit arrogant, but I guess with his track record…he has every right to be. I didn't just pull this out of my ass you know, I actually did my homework on this thing, mom stays here, until she's better, discussion closed" Goten said, equally as stubbornly

"If only dad…" Gohan had started to say, only to have Goten grab him roughly by the neck, banging his head against the wall.

"We have no father Gohan, understand, never, ever mention that son of a bitch in my presence again" Goten said furiously, before storming out of the room

No, Goku definitely couldn't take that particular memory.

He couldn't handle it

He couldn't bear to remain on the receiving end of that cold, but satisfied glint in Chichi's eyes either

He just couldn't do it

And of all the things that Chichi had expected him to do after learning the truth like… groveling, begging, shame filled pleading…the one thing she didn't expect was for Goku to just up and…disappear, right before her very eyes.

No explanation, no long winded apologies…not a word at all

"Insufferable, tailless APE!" she screamed her frustration to no one in particular, before rising to her feet, trashing a few chairs and tables, and storming back inside

"Goku, for crying out loud! You can't just show up here, it's not appropriate!" King Kai blurted, terribly startled by the sudden appearance of his former pupil

"Sorry King Kai, but I need your help with something" he said dully

"_We have no father Gohan, understand, never, ever mention that son of a bitch in my presence again"_

King Kai knew him well enough to notice right away that something was wrong, but he still couldn't resist the lecture

"Look, you're alive now, you can't just show up here, it should be physically impossible. You're not supposed to be able to move between the living and non-living world like this…come…we'll use Grand Kai's parlour to talk…obviously something's wrong" he said, trying to usher him away from plain sight

"I need some information" he said in his serious voice, as they made their way into the giant mansion

"What kind of information?" King Kai asked

"I don't really know" Goku said, trying to think of how to explain his predicament

"Err…" King Kai sweat dropped

"…but…um…do you know any kind of technique that could restore someone's memories?" Goku continued

"Memories?" King Kai was surprised, since when was Goku interested in any technique that didn't have to do with fighting?

"Yeah…memories…I need to remember something, just thought you might have an idea on how I could do it" he told him, still distracted by the ghosts in Chichi's mind

"Well…um…I know many things Goku, I _am_ the overseer of a big chunk of the universe you know, I happen to know a lot about…um…many things" he talked with his hands behind his back

"So you know a technique?" Goku asked hopefully

"Well, not per say, I mean, history has shown many techniques that could help one recover lost memories like…hypnosis, shock therapy…wait a minute…" he suddenly shouted alarmed "…you're not trying to recover your original Saiyan programming?" he asked a bit worriedly, now that Goku was the most powerful force in the universe, it would be…catastrophic if he turned away from the side of good

"What…NO!" Goku said, that was the last thing he needed in his life right now

"Just checking" King Kai mumbled "…look there are many things that you could try, but most of them take time, years even, so I'm going to go ahead and assume that you're looking for a quick fix. I can only think of one person from the top of my head, they used to weave memory spells in thier day, perhaps they might be able to help. Shinganga...a bit…odd, but, if I recall correctly, very good at thier craft. You'll have to talk to King Yemma, he may be able to grant you permission to find them down below" he said, using an upside down thumb to indicate the 'below part'

"Oh" Goku said, understanding, but shrugging, he had been 'down below' before, it was no biggie

"Just be careful how you phrase your request Goku, I think we both know that there are some things, in particular 'saiyan' things that you might not wish to bring to the surface, okay?" he turned towards his former pupil, but to his shock, he had been talking to himself, Goku was already gone

"Crap" he muttered

"Absolutely NOT!" King Yemma's voice boomed, he was thoroughly annoyed that Goku could somehow transport himself to otherworld whilst alive. It was downright…wrong. A mortal had to have limits, even if it was Son Goku

"_It hurts…" _the memory haunted him

"I'll find him with or without your permission King Yemma, with will just be less…destructive" Goku said sterly, he really didn't feel like turning hell inside out looking for someone called Shinganga, but he would, if he had to!

King Yemma examined the young warriors face. He was actually being serious. Damnation!

"You _did_ just save the universe, I suppose…I might be inclined to make an exception" he mumbled "…I'll have them brought up…no need to go down there, just…give me a second…" King Yemma said

"_I'm sorry Goku, I just…I just can't bear to have you walk away from me again. I just…I just can't"_

Goku waited impatiently for Shinganga to be escorted to the check-in station. He was trying to talk to as many souls coming in as possible. That way, he could escape the memories. He was anxious to remember, it was the only way he'd be able to make sense of this situation.

He felt the dark presence of the Shinganga or Tribal Dark Sorcerer, long before he made his appearance. It was the same feeling he had felt when he first came into the presence of Freeza.

It was downright, sickening.

The Shinganga appeared encased in some kind of silver shield. His purple eyes were glaring hatefully at King Yemma. His features were so delicate, his purple hair so long and rich, Goku found himself having trouble figuring out his sex, if indeed his species had sexes.

The air in the check-in had definitely dropped by a few degrees.

King Yemma cleared his throat

"Shinganga, you have been brought out of your solitary confinement at the request of this warrior, he has a request" he informed him

Shinganga's eyes shifted to Goku. The intensive hate bestowed upon King Yemma instantly evaporating.

And of all the things Goku had expected from the dark sorcerer, he most certainly did not expect to see him/her blushing?

"And why would I grant him this favour?" an undeniably feminine voice came out of her mouth

"Because, it just might be your only ticket out of confinement!" King Yemma shouted irritably

"Including the binds on my craft?" she asked hopefully, a certain glint shinning in her eyes

"Absolutely NOT!" King Yemma boomed

Shinganga sighed, oh well, it was worth a try

"You may make your request young warrior, and if it is within my power, I might be _persuaded_ to grant it" she said, her eyes travelling up and down his length

Goku eyed her carefully, his instincts were never wrong, she was evil, there was no doubt about it. Yet, she had been almost polite in the way she had addressed him

"I was told you might be able to restore my memories, can you?" he asked her

"That's it?" she sounded surprised, and definitely disappointed, like she was too good to be summoned for such a meager task

"Well…yeah" he said

"Hardly a challenge, but…for a kiss…I might be willing to overlook the insult" she said

"Typical" King Yemma muttered under his breath

"B-but…I can't kiss you, I already have a wife!" Goku said, his eyes having had widened to the size of saucers

"I'm dead, it doesn't count" she told him, licking her lips in anticipation.

"I-I…I-I…" he looked towards King Yemma for help

The larger man just shrugged, tapping his large fingers on his equally large desk impatiently

"Would it ease your conscience if I told you the memory retrieval spell works through a kiss?" she said

"Does it?" he asked

"It could" she smiled smugly

He really didn't think that kissing another woman was the way to win back his wife. Even if the other woman was, well…dead.

What choice did he have though, he had thought he'd understood her anger, but he hadn't even been close.

He had thought he'd just make up for the seven years that he'd missed, but how was he ever going to make up for the thirty-five years she had spent alone?

He had fully intended on winning her back, but where was he supposed to start with this ninety year old woman whose soul was so far from the woman she'd been that the physical resemblance was the only thing that was even remotely still _her?_

And the worst of it all was that he couldn't even begin to defend or justify his actions. How could he, when the future had played itself from her perspective alone. He had no idea why he had made the decisions he'd made. He had no idea what he had been thinking, what he had been planning.

He had no idea how to go about handling this situation without remembering why he had made the choices he had made in the first place. He sort of knew what he had done, but without his memories, he had no idea why.

He needed those memories.

"Chichi's not gonna like this" he muttered, making his way to the purple haired woman

Chichi was furious!

She had stormed into the large Capsule Corp kitchen to let out some steam after Goku had abandoned her on the balcony.

How dare he? How dare he just up and…disappear?

She had grabbed a knife and expertly started chopping meat and vegetables. Furious by his lack of…remorse?

Before she knew what she was doing, she was blending fruits and vegetales making sauces, rolling out flour and butter to make pastries and whipping and whisking batter to make cakes.

Goten and Trunks were ecstatic.

Chichi just kept producing dish after dish, absently muttering words the boys knew to be 'bad', but luckily, she didn't even whack their fingers as they greedily consumed the goodies as soon as she put them on the table.

Catching on to the rarity that was taking place in the kitchen, Gohan and Vegeta had also joined the club to take advantage of the freebies.

"Inconsiderate…stupid…tailless…brainless…shameless…" she continued to mutter, as she roughly pulled out a pie from the oven.

Didn't it mean anything to him at all? Didn't he have anything to say for himself? Did she mean so little to him, so little to not even be moved by everything she had been through?

Furiously, she pulled out a butcher's knife and began to hack away at the defrosted dino leg.

Vegeta, Gohan, Goten and Trunks were in heaven, they continued to greedily consume the dishes as they became available, while Videl sat staring at Chichi, wondering why she was the only one disturbed by her behavior.

Goku made it a point to make the kiss as brief as possible, but as soon as his face came into contact with the silver shield encasing her, it was as if his face was moving of its own volition. Her lips were soft and warm, not at all unpleasant, but her aura was dark and unbearable. He hadn't planned on closing his eyes, but the purple pupils staring at him ran shivers down his spine, so to make the transaction more bearable, he shut his eyes and prayed that Chichi would not castrate him for this as well as for the list of other things he had already done.

He was startled to discover that she had not been lying about the kiss. As soon as her tongue daringly pushed into his mouth, he felt a jolt. His vision began to blur and in seconds, the memories gushed at him. It was happening so quickly and so intensely that he pulled away from her and sank to his knees.

It wasn't exactly painless.

"Ahhh!" he began to scream as the pressure intensified, clutching his head

"What did you do to him?" King Yemma yelled at Shinganga

"I kissed him" she smirked, regretting that it was over. This warrior, his strength was immeasurable, she had felt it when they had made contact, he could definitely turn a woman's head. The magic that had bound his memories was strong, but nothing she couldn't handle. The injury that had bound his other memories was severe, but she had been able to bypass it as well, releasing everything lurking in that brain of his. She really felt that she deserved a bit more than a kiss for her thorough job, but…now that she was going out of confinement, she would definitely be on the prowl.

Yes, the five-hundred years of drought were finally over!

In reality it had only been a few minutes, but Goku felt like the painful intrusive gust of memories had lasted years. When it was finally over, he slumped to the floor, panting.

It was like being born again.

He remembered, he remembered it all, those ten years before he left to train Uub. The eight years of intensive training, coming back home, only to be wished into a child's body. The distress and disappointment from his wife. His blaze and nonchalant attitude about it. Going into space, meeting and fighting all those villains.

Super-Seventeen

Baby.

The shadow dragons.

Omega Shenron.

Taking off at the back of Shenlong's back. Sleeping for a ridiculously long time while his body grew out of it's child-like state. Travelling through the world of the dragons, learning new techniques, growing stupidly in strength, he remembered every last detail of it, up to the very moment Porunga's magic had touched his mind, erasing his memories and changing the physical attributes of his body.

And he wanted them back, all of them, starting with his tail.

But perhaps, the most significant of his memories, was the memory of himself, he remembered who he was. His self before falling down that ravine, he remembered Kakarott.

_**That's chapter chapter 7 you guys. Please leave a review if you're following this story. I have one more chapter that's already typed, and the rest is just plot notes. **_

**Chichiforever**: thanks for your review, I hope the wait for this chapter wasn't too long.

**Saiyajin-love**: thanks so much for your reviews. It seems that not everyone thinks that Goku deserves to suffer for all his wrong doings, but, as much as I love him, there is no denying…he was far, very far from the perfect husband and father. Thank you so much for reviewing, I am so happy that you enjoy the story.

**Joy's canvas:** I'm so sorry I stopped updating this story for as long as I did. As I explained last chapter, I was really preoccupied with my other stories. I wish I could get the balance right, but…sometimes it's hard to do, so I tend to go with the inspiration for the day. I really hope that you'll continue to read though, I love gokuxchichi and I just love everyone that shared that love with me.

**Kiara**: hi there, thank you for your reviews. Chichi has such a raw deal in the show, this is my attempt to correct it, lol, I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long

The gangsta of love: another update!

**Kawaii248**: I know right? She was on the verge there for a minute, but Goku was unknowingly able to pull her out. So all the secrets are out now, they can finally move forward. No comment about space, you'll see for yourself next chapter.

**Ninjapuppies**: hi there, and thank you very much for your reviews. I hope you continue to enjoy the story

**Hmrtaylor**: I really feel that Chichi's life from the second Raditz made his appearance, took a turn for the worst. There were some happy times here and there, but in the end…I just really don't know how she was able to stay so strong and positive.

**passionCat**: it's a mess, the whole bloody thing is one big mess, lol

**msdeborah**: another chapter, not as fast as the last one…but…

**Isabelle Prado**: hi there, thanks for the review, but I think I didn't understand it. you mentioned something about the final and children?

**Vulu**: I always felt that in general as the fans, we tend to underestimate the pressure of the weight that must be on Goku's shoulders. I can't imagine it having been as easy as a smile. I really enjoyed your review, it was definitely not one sided.

**Kakarot Son:** I really hated what they did with the characters past dbz, and not just Goku and Chichi, but Videl, Gohan, Trunks, Pan urg, I couldn't stand them! I loved Goten though, lol, so I guess I'll be shaking things up a bit in this story.

**Ultimategohan42**: Wow, I'm glad that this story is to your liking, especially if you don't really enjoy the couple as a genre. My love for Goku and Gohan turns to switch to and fro, and that usually determines which story I'll obsess over for a bit. Guess I'm feeling the love for Goku in these days. But yeah, in episode 55/56 somewhere there, Goku arrives on Namek and reads Krilins mind to find out all that had transpired, and then he gives Vegeta a sensu bean cause he saw in Krilins memories that they had all been fighting together.

**Chimney leaf:** hey, thank you for dropping that review. I'm a bit nervous as to how you'll feel about the story as it moves forward, especially if you're not a gokuxchichi fan per say, lol, but I'm glad that you're reading, and even more glad that you find it interesting despite not being a fan of this particular couple.

**Laurentaylor14**: hi there, thank you for your review, and I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story

**Ry**: thank you, hope you continue to enjoy it

**Mychakk: **thank you so much for dropping that review. It really made my day. I'm glad to see someone feeling Goku's pain, the poor guy has really suffered, and Chichi has said some horrible, and unfair things to him…but, that does not mean that he is innocent and blameless in this fiasco, he did repeatedly abandon his wife. Honestly, I don't know where she got the strength to stay committed to him for so long. I hope you'll continue to enjoy the story

**Puregangleyes:** thank you so much, I really hope that you continue to enjoy it

**Elizabeth:** Yep, they definitely had more kids in this story. I just felt that one was rather…lonely, no wonder Pan was such a brat in GT. As for your other questions, lol, they should be answered soon. Thank you ever so much for your review.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I own this new pack of fine-liners

Chapter 8, part 1

Goku materialized in the giant kitchen just as Chichi pulled out a hot tray of cookies from the oven.

"Ouwie!" He immidiately yelped, jumping back as the corner of the tray made contact with the spot just above his navel.

"Daddy!" Goten cheered, rushing forth to grab his father's leg. He had secretly been worried when he hadn't been able to sense his ki anymore, but he didn't let his big brother know that he had been keeping tabs on it, he didn't want him or Trunks to accuse him of being a baby. He didn't expect them to understand, for him, having a father was still a miracle, one he had been granted only yesterday; of course he was still keeping tabs on the man!

Chichi just side stepped him, slamming the hot tray on a cooling rack.

'The nerve, the nerve, the nerve!' She ranted in her mind, wishing that they were alone so she could giver him a piece of her mind. She was still reeling that after everything she had let his see, he had just upped and left!

"Hiya, Goten!" Goku greeted his youngest, lifting the little boy into his arms, and squeezing his small frame against his, in an impromptu hug.

_"We have no father Gohan, never, ever mention that son of a bitch in my presence again" _Goten's future, or was it past words rang through his head.

"Where did you go daddy? I couldn't sense you?" The little guy enquired

"Sorry if I worried you Goten, I left the planet for a second, to look for something I had forgotten" he explained to his son

Chichi tensed up at those words, but quickly dismissed them, to continue her rigorous whisking

"Cool, did ya find it?" Goten asked excitedly, maybe it was a cool toy, or an alien Lizard!

"Yep! I sure did" Goku exclaimed happily, passing a meaningful glance on to Chichi

Chichi dropped the bowl of egg whites on the floor, leaving the electic mixer to hum and twirl uselessly in the air

"Cool" Goten said, satisfied and completely oblivious to his parents silent conversation "...did ya see all this yummy food momma's been making?" he moved on to more important matters, now that the issue of his father's whereabouts was settled

"You betcha!" Goku said, licking his lips in a great show of anticipation

"Momma hasn't tried to stop us from eating the whole time! Even all the sweet stuff! She didn't hit our hands at all, it's GREAT! Come daddy, grab a seat before Mr Vegeta, an'Trunks an'Gohan eat all!" He said, jumping down from his father's embrace, and trying to pull him to a kitchen stool near his.

"Go ahead son, daddy needs to talk with your mommy first" Goku said

Vegeta and Gohan immidiately halted, staring up at Goku in disbelief, he was gonna do what first? Did he not SEE all this yummy food?

Chichi continued to stare at her husband, the mixer still humming and rotating in her trembling hand.

Poor Videl was the only one with enough manners to have sort out an absorbent sponge to start cleaning up the mess of semi-stiff egg whites that had emptied on the impeccable tiles.

Goku took three steps in her frozen direction, and carefully removed the electric contrapment from her hand, gently placing it on the counter behind her, and turning it off.

Knowing that she wouldn't make a scene with everyone watching, especially Videl, Goku took advantage. He wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her towards him. When her body gently made contact with his, he lowered his face to the crook of her neck, his lips lingering a few centimetres from her ear, and whispered, for her ears alone...

"I remember it all Chi, I remember everything" his hot breath wafted over her face, tantalizing her senses.

Chichi shook her head, unless he had summoned that steroid taking Porunga, which they had already failed at doing earlier on whilst trying to resurrect Videl, there was no way...

He felt her stiffen in his arms at the news, but he didn't care, he was yearning for her, had been yearning to be with her since taking off with at the back of the Shenron, it had been a long thirty-five years, even longer for him, since time didn't pass in the same way where he had been. And so, despite the presence of Vegeta, Trunks, Gohan, Goten and Videl, he moved his face slightly from her ear, his cheek grazing against her's, the thrill of anticipation crackling in the air, and moved his mouth over hers to claim a kiss when...

"You remember what, Kakarot?" Vegeta interrupted

Goku cursed himself for forgetting just how sensitive saiyan hearing was, of course Vegeta would hear, and probably his sons, had heard as well

Chichi took that as an opportunity to step away from him, her heart beating so fast, she was positive that everyone in the room with saiyan hearing was on to it

Goku groaned, irritated

"What do you remember dad?" Gohan piped in, innocently, he had also heard

"Just a little something that might help Bulma build a healing tank" he said nonchalantly

Vegeta choked on his muffin.

"Moflnboo" he muffled, choking. Trunks took this opportunity to give him a big whack, on his chest, the muffin sputtering out in soggy bits

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Vegeta tried again, rising to his feet to point in the direction of Goku

"What's a healing tank?" Goten asked innocently

"Gohan didn't tell you?" Goku asked his youngest

"Even I know what a healing tank is Goten" Trunks said with superiority

"Explain, Now, Kakarot!" Vegeta demanded

"Later" was the taller Saiyans response "...like I said, I need to have a word with my wife..." he said again, turning to face her

Chichi had been busy trying to quell her emotions, unless she was jumping the gun, he claimed to remember, but how? And what? And what did that have to do with healing tanks? Was it something he came across in space?' And why the hell isn't he grovelling then?'

"What do you say babe?" He was suddenly in her space again, making her heart and hormones jump alike

"...don't you think we should be more focused on your trip right now?" She tried to be stern

"...you mean, _our_ trip..." He murmured

Her eyes widened, he couldn't possibly be serious!

"...w-what?" She squeaked out, her voice coming out as a strangled whisper "...I'm not going into space!" She said more clearly, more audibly

"I wanna go, I wanna go!" Goten chimed enthusiastically, jumping up and down

"...we'll all go, our first family vacation" Goku beamed

The vein on Chichi's forehead nearly burst right there and then "Oh no we won't" she refused, glaring her husband down

"I'm not going without you Chi, nor without Goten, we've been separated for too long, come on, let's go to space, hey Goten?" he said cheerily, like the mountain high problems between him and his wife simply didn't exist

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Goten jumped up and down

"No!" Chichi tried to put her foot down

"Yes" Goku said, a brilliant smile on his face, his eyes practically twinkling

He knew he had a mountain of wrongs to make up for, he knew that Chichi wasn't faking it, she truly did hate him, and he understood her reasons too. But god damn, now that he remembered evertything...now that he remembered all his plans, he couldn't wait, couldn't wait to get started!

"Son Goku, I'm not kidding, Goten and I are NOT coming!" She said, trying very, very hard NOT to lose it

"Fine" he smiled knowingly, "...I guess Videl and Gohan will have to go alone then..." He shrugged, waiting for it...

"WHAT? ARE YOU CRAZY? My precious little boy is NOT, I repeat NOT, gonna face those delinquint space tyrants, and robots, and failed egg laying science experiment freaks alone! You hear me GOKU! ABSOLUTELY NOT!" She screamed, making all the males in the room cover their ears, wincing

Goku couldn't help himself, he felt his body heat up all over, he so, so enjoyed a furious Chichi!

"It's up to you hon, we all go, or..." He shrugged

And Chichi lost it

WHACK

The sound resonated across the kitchen, bits and pieces of what was once a microwave falling and clanking on the floor.

Vegeta snickered, at least his own woman didn't have the strength to pick up and toss such a contrapment with such ease

Goku rubbed his head, damn, that actually hurt, he smiled

Gohan was undecided about what to do, it had been seven years since he bore witness to this, he was having trouble deciding if it was normal or if it was a bit more serious

Goten had never seen his parents interrect, he was a bit nervous about how his father would retaliate, he stood ready just in case...he may be his dad, but...if he tried anything with his mom...he'd be fusing with Trunks so quick, the adults wouldn't know what hit'em

Goku clutched his sides...laughing

"You know...I didn't know it at the time, but I must have fallen inlove with you that day you gave me a whack and sent me into that tree" he kept laughing "and then you grabbed my tail" heh heh he "...and after all these years, you've still got it Chi." He took a few calming breathes, "...you're still the only one that can get the drop on me, and you know how much that excites me" his last sentence was more of a whisper, before he roughly pulled her towards him, as his mouth moved over hers

"Euw!" Goten and Trunks remarked, completely revolted

Gohan's eyes widened, they wouldn't!

Vegeta just rolled his eyes, a fiesty woman was a sure turn on for those with Saiyan blood...but, they could at least save it for their damn bedroom

Videl blushed, just yesterday, she had discovered her deep feelings for Gohan, she couldn't help but be jelous that he hadn't kissed her senseless after they resurrected her

Chichi pulled away from the kiss, enraged! How she longed to slap him for his audacity, but...she couldn't make a scene, not with everyone watching. Her children would know for sure that something was wrong, and she couldn't have that.

It was unfortunate that her body was not of the same mind as her head and her heart. Simply put, it wanted more...while the rest of her, the part of her that had been abondoned thirty-five years ago, just wanted to castrate him!

In a huff, Chichi practically flung off her apron and stormed out of the kitchen, Goku following behind

"You have some nerve!" She whirled around, once she had walked far enough to be out of earshot

"You shouldn't have given up on me Chi" was his response

"What?" She said, in disbelief

"You gave up on me, on us, you broke your promise" he told her, nothing in his voice even hinting that he was apologetic

"You took off on the back of that dragon, and didn't come back, don't you dare preach to me about giving up Son Goku, don't you dare!" She seethed

"I realise that, and I'm sorry for being gone for as long as I was...but Chichi, you have to know that after I absorbed the dragonballs into me, I was mostly asleep while my body was being conditioned to host them." He said

"So you fell asleep, so what? You should have come home as soon as you woke UP!" She yelled

"I tried Chichi, I tried" he said seriously "It's just that...well, I couldn't really leave the Dragon Plane, it was physically impossible, even with my instant transmission, I failed, over and over again. Shenron explained that my physical being could only leave that Plane if a Namekian modelled another dragon in Shenron's image" he tried to explain to her

"What?"

"I couldn't leave Chi, I was bound there, I discovered all of that too late, I wish Shenron had explained all that to me before hand, but...the truth is, as mighty as the dragons are, they are also confined to certain rules. The minute I absorbed those dragonballs, I became like one of them, confined to that place" he told her regretfully

Chichi opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out

"I admit, I did a lot of training, I learned a lot of techniques and stuff, but...Chichi...I never gave up on us, even years after I had grown back into an adult, you and the kids and Pan, you were still my motivation to get stronger, every day I looked for a loophole, I kept telling myself that there had to be another way out..."

"Stop! Just stop!" She held up her hands

"Just let me finish Chi"

"No, NO! You don't get to do this to me Goku, you don't get to DO THIS TO ME!" she cried

"Chichi..." he took a step towards her

Chichi just backed up, trembling, unable to keep the tears from falling

"I SAID NO!" she screamed

Goku sighed, there was still so much he wanted to tell her, so much...

"Chichi, just let me..." he tried to reach for her

She smacked away his hand furiously

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT GOKU, OKAY! YOU ALWAYS HAVE AN EXCUSE AND I'M JUST TOO OLD, AND TIRED TO DEAL WITH THEM ANYMORE, SO TAKE YOUR STORY AND SHOVE IT" she yelled, using the full force of her body to shove him with her hands

Of course, he didn't budge

Instead, he grabbed her wrists with his hands and sighed

"I know it was hard for you, I saw how hard the years were on you, but Chichi...I expected more from you" he said honestly

Chichi's eyes glazed over in fury as she began to writhe violently in his grasp

"BASTARD, BASTARD, BASTARD!'' she screamed, trying to attack him

"You were angry, I get that, I probably would have been angry too. But we promised an eternity Chichi, We promised an eternity in this world or the next, and granted, by earth standards thirty-five years is a long time, but..."

"I would rather rot in hell than spend an eternity with you" she fumed

"That's just the anger talking" he dismissed

"Get it through your head Goku, I don't love you anymore, that fire that used to burn for you is dead, DEAD, DEAD, get it? And as soon as this mess with the planet is sorted out, as soon as Gohan and Videl are back on track, I'm ending this farce of a marriage and moving on with my life, so you can tell your stories of dragons and planes to someone who actually gives a damn" she told him

"You're my wife Chichi, even death itself hasn't been able to change that" he said staring her down

"That was a long time ago, I haven't been your wife in years, just a bitter, shriveled up and unwanted old prune" she said distastefully

"Aw, don't say that Chi, you know you've always been wanted, you've always been my wife, I carried you and our family in my heart all the time, you must believe me" his voice rose a notch

"I don't give a damn what you carried Goku, I gave you every last bit of me, and you broke my heart over and over again. There's nothing left, I'm numb, done, I couldn't care less what you do" she told him

"In that case, I guess I should stop feeling guilty about that woman I kissed today to get my memories back" he murmured close to her face

Had she been a Saiyan, she would have burst into a golden glow. Her rage was all consuming.

She lunged at him, bound wrists and all, she rammed her head against his chin so hard that she passed out on impact.

"Shit!" Goku cursed, cradling her in his arms, there was a huge gash on her forehead, and the blood was already seeping out. He hadn't anticipated this kind of reaction.

He was about to transport them to the lookout when Goten and Trunks came laughing through the door.

"Shit!" he cursed again, as their eyes widened in alarm

(_Very short I know, and not very well fleshed out, but since I'm going into temporary hiatus, I didn't want to leave you guys hanging with no explanation. I'm in the middle of exams right now, so I'll be back in full swing after the 16__th__ of May. I hope you guys can forgive the short chapter, and it would just make my day if I had some reviews to fall back on when the economics starts to get tedious)_

Hope you liked the chapter, Ta!


	9. Chapter 9

**Hiatus Over :D**

You guys, I have no words, thank you ever so much for your feedback, the good the bad and the hilarious! You so make this fic-writing business worth it, long may that continue.

Right, shut up gue, here is that chapter…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own db/z/gt

**Chapter 9 - Part A**

**...**

"Y-y…y-you…hurt my mom" Goten whimpered, his good mood evaporating in seconds

"No Goten, I…" Goku began to say, as he adjusted the unconscious form of Chichi in his arms, but… Goten wasn't listening

"GO HA N!" Goten's scream practically rattled the mass expanse of infinite windows spaced out in between rows of bricks and concrete making up the walls of Capsule Corp.

As a big brother, or more specifically in Gohan's case, as a father figure, you learn pretty early how to differentiate between the different cries of your children. They tend to call out for you when they're bored, when they want attention, when they're hungry, when they're tired, when they're excited and for many other reasons, and from where he was sitting in the kitchen, discreetly perving Videl's ass as she moved about the kitchen, Gohan felt the hairs at the back of his neck tingle because that cry, that particular call for help was no ordinary scream, in fact, he had heard that scream only twice before, and both times, Goten had been seriously distraught.

Like only a devoted big brother could, Gohan leapt to his feet, abandoning a plate full of goodies and raced in the direction of his brother.

Goten was trembling, he just couldn't believe his eyes. Twice now his mommy had been hurt during his watch, and he was sick and tired of big bullies picking on her. First, it had been that tasteless looking pink mush-mellow Buu, and now this man he had come to know as his own father. He should have known better than to trust the man with his mother. And as his eyes followed a droplet of her blood as it trickled down from the painful looking gash on her forehead, descending all the way down, making a small bounce when it hit the polished floor, Goten knew that he had seen just about enough

With his bottom lip trembling, and raw emotion stinging him at the back of his eyes, he didn't even have to coax his best-friend to get the ball rolling. Since the fusion, it was as if a part of him lived on in Trunks, and a part of Trunks lived on in him. They had acquired a natural sync with each other's emotions.

"Ready Goten!" Trunks prompted, already aligning his power level to that of his friend, his feet balanced on tip-toes, his hands outstretching like a ballerina

Gotten just nodded his head, his feet tip-toeing and his arms outstretching in the opposite direction

"F-FU..." They began in sync, their movements graceful as they bent their arms.

Goku muttered a few incomprehensible curses under his breath, at the sight of the unfolding scene. It saddened him that Goten had such little faith in him, the two boys didn't even know the details, but already, they had pegged him as the bad guy in this accidental equation.

_"We have no father Gohan, never ever mention that son of a bitch in my presence again"_

The memory of his sons past yet future self reverberated in his mind once again. He realized now, that Goten must have held a deep rooted mistrust for him from the very beginning, and him leaving the family to train Uub had probably done little to reassure his son of his commitment to his family.

"...S-SIO..." the boys continued their dance, their bodies moving in harmony, their movements in direct opposites of each other, it was like watching a ballet through a mirror

Goku realized that he had to act quickly, as he would hate to have to power up enough to match the fused Gotenks, and suffer the wrath of Bulma when her house was blown to bits. Adjusting his hold of Chichi in his arms once again, he tried to stop the boys before it was too late

"Goten, Trunks..." He put up one palm to signify that they should cease their actions

"...HA!..." The tips of their forefingers touched, a bright light engulfed the duo, and a warm swirl of energy rippled around the room, just as Gohan, with Videl and Vegeta following close behind him, made the scene

"What the?" the trio from the kitchen exclaimed at the sight of a wounded and bleeding Chichi in Goku's arms, and the figure of an unexpected Gotenks clearing from within the swirl of enormous energy

"Crap" Goku muttered, he should have acted sooner, now he had a potentially enraged Gotenks to deal with, on top of the pile of crap he already seemed to have on his plate

"Kakarot?" Vegeta posed the question with the slight inflection of his tone

"DAD, what's...what happened to MOM...and why did they fuse...Gotenks...what are you doing here?" Gohan blurted out, the scene before his eyes was just completely...unexpected, confusing and worrying

But it was the fused being who responded, before Goku could get a word in and explain himself

"Put our mother down you third-class trash, and let's see you pick on someone your own size…err…no…your own power-level…err…no, no…someone…someone…let's see…" he thought, tapping his foot in thought, "…hmm…OH I GOT IT!, someone strong enough to grow their hair out faster than even YOU!..." Gotenks said triumphantly, at what he felt was an appropriate insult, already tensing his muscles in preparation to transform to the third form.

Goku eyed him wearily, Gotenks may have been a powerful warrior, but he was still just a child, _his_ child, even his insults were childlike. But…third-class trash, really?

"Goten!" Gohan exclaimed in shock at Gotenks's choice of words. _Third class trash?_

"Vegeta" Goku said, narrowing his eyes, you and I are gonna have to have a talk about your influence on my son" he told the saiyan prince, his voice taking a dip in tone

Vegeta was about to retort, no doubt something sarcastic but an impatient Gotenks butted in

"Don't just stand there Gohan, get our mom, and then..." Gotenks cracked his knuckles "...then it's you and me _dad_..." He said, spitting out the last word in distaste

"I don't have time to play games with you Gotenks, you're a bigger fool than even Piccolo warned me about, if you think that I'd deliberately hurt your mother. Now, pipe down, I need to get Chichi some help" Goku said seriously

"Dad, what happened to mom?" Gohan asked his question again, advancing towards his parents, he didn't really know this combination of Trunks and Goten well, but...everyone had said that the fused boy was more than just a bit arrogant, if not loopy, and Gohan wasn't about to judge the situation by him.

"She hit her head" Goku said, his eye still on Gotenks, whose energy was fluctuating in unstable bouts

"How? But more importantly, she doesn't look very good, we should get her to Dende as soon as possible" Gohan said worriedly, arms outstretching in a movement indicative of wanting to take his mom in his own arms.

After all, in the last seven years, it had been his responsibility to take care of his mom. And during those times when she would cry herself to sleep, Gohan would pick her up from the sofa and tuck her into bed, more so when she was heavily pregnant with Goten. Taking charge, and taking care of his mom had become habitual instinct.

"It's okay son, I'll take her" Goku said, ignoring Gohan's outstretched arms, and tightening his hold on his burden instead

"You let go of our mom RIGHT NOW, you big bully!" Gotenks suddenly phased in-front of Goku, bypassing Gohan and attempting to snatch Chichi out of his arms.

"Enough brat!" Vegeta scolded his part-son, he had never actually laid eyes on the fused boy before, he was impressively powerful, and he wasn't even transformed yet

Gotenks wanted to protest, in this form, he could take care of Vegeta no sweat, but…the look in Vegeta's eyes still managed to scare the crap of the little boys inside the fused being.

"I can't sense Dende…" Goku said, with his two fingers to his forehead, his eyes narrowed in concentration "…but I can sense Mr Popo…" Goku said, before he vanished out of sight.

"What happened Goku?" Mr Popo asked the tall saiyan that had just startled him by his sudden appearance

"She hit her head…where is Dende?" Goku asked

"At a celebration, in Otherworld" Mr Popo informed him

"What?" he exclaimed, shocked

"The otherworld deities are having a mass celebration in commemoration given the victory against Majin Buu, Dende was summoned to attend" Mr Popo informed him

Goku just rolled his eyes, this had Grand-Kai written all over it, during his time in otherworld, he had quickly discovered that the eccentric Kai was very much into his fun, any excuse for a party would do. But he supposed that they had celebrated on earth as well the day before, so…

"I'll just have to break up their little party then…" Goku said to himself, putting two fingers to his forehead

"GOKU NO!" Mr Popo shouted at him, clearly alarmed

"Huh?" Goku blinked, confused by the shorter man's sudden outburst

"She's not like you Goku, even the Kais are baffled by your ability to move between the planes unaffected. If you transport to otherworld with your wife, she'll die, and her body will be confined there" Mr Popo warned him

"Crap" Goku muttered, he had forgotten about that, he knew firsthand what is was to have your body confined to a place, he had gone through it for several years with Shenron

"I'm sorry Goku, but with no sensu beans left, you're just gonna have to have her tended to at the hospital until Dende is back" Mr Popo lamented

"You've got to be kidding me!" Goku said, shaking his head at the shorter mans ridiculousness, there was no way in hell he'd sit around and wait while Chichi was hurt "Here…" he said, placing Chichi carefully in Mr Popo's arms "…look after her…" he told him, and before Mr Popo could get a word in, he had put two fingers to his forehead and disappeared

Dende blinked, looked around, and blinked again. How did he…no, he wasn't hallucinating, he was back on the lookout, but…how?

"Quickly, Dende, Chichi's hurt" Goku said urgently, he had locked on to King Kai, and as soon as he had materialized in otherworld, he had been able to sense Dende again. Immediately he'd transported himself to his location. Before Dende had even noticed his sudden appearance, he had touched his shoulder and transported them back to earth

"Huh?' Dende was still slightly disoriented from the instant transmission and the after effects of the otherworld 'pipe' the deities had convinced him to inhale.

"Dende!" Mr Popo exclaimed disapprovingly when he saw the Guardians red eyes, his disoriented form, and the sweet scent that wafted from him "…you inhaled the red pipe of otherworld…" he scolded

Dende blushed, and staggered, he was definitely far from steady on his feet, he had felt all warm and giggly and funny and thirsty and…so many other things he couldn't explain, just a few short minutes after inhaling the smoke from that Pipe.

"_Don't be such a kill-joy green-bean, have some of this bong, it's not every-day that the entire universe gets saved!"_ Grand Kai had urged him

Goku gritted his teeth with impatience. He knew exactly which pipe it was that Mr Popo was referring to. Grand Kai was always smoking that thing, and though the smell was sweet and almost aromatic, he had noted how it had always made the Kai slightly disoriented, and rather…vulgar with the things he said about the opposite sex. He would often disappear with some of the female staff that worked in his giant mansion.

"_Mnn…that's right, stroke daddy's long rough beard sweetness"_ Goku had overheard him once

King Kai had made Goku promise to never, ever smoke it; the last thing otherworld had needed was a high and horny dead super-saiyan roaming around.

"Dende, please, try to focus, Chichi could be seriously hurt" Goku urged him

"Um…yeah…sure…sure…" Dende said, motioning for Mr Popo to bring the wounded woman to him

Gently, Mr Popo lay Chichi on the floor before the Guardian. Dende placed his hands over her and a pink glow began to engulf her body

"Um…" Goku said "…why is it…pink?" he asked out loud, he had seen Dende heal before, and this was his first time to witness such a colour

Mr Popo just stared, baffled, he had never seen Dende's healing have quiet this effect before

"Mnn…" Chichi groaned, as she began to stir. Goku watched as the nasty gash on her forehead closed, as the pigmentation of her skin changed from purple to red, to brown, and as the tightness smoothed out, until finally, her forehead was back to normal.

"Mr Popo, I think I could do with a glass of water" Dende said, suddenly feeling parched. He rose to his feet and started walking in a random direction. Mr Popo had to place his hand on his shoulder, turn him around, and steer him in the right direction.

"Chichi…" Goku squatted down, lifting her from the floor and cradling her in his arms. He stared intently at her face, as she lazily opened her eyes

_"In that case, I guess I should stop feeling guilty about that woman I kissed today to get my memories back"_The memory rushed to the top of her consciousness.

"You…" she said, her voice low and slightly husky. She wanted to focus on her hatred for him, on this new low he had sunk to, wasn't it enough that he had crushed her heart to fine dust? Did he have to boast his despicable conquests as well? Oh…she'd show him alright, but first…she felt thirsty, so…parched…visions of a waterfall suddenly danced before her eyes. She imagined herself naked, standing under its showers, her mouth slightly parted, her tongue darting out playfully as the cool droplets…

"Chichi?" Goku tried again, his brow furrowing, she looked…a bit spaced out, he was starting to worry

Chichi blinked back the vision and tried to re-focus. 'Right' she thought to herself 'um…what was I on about again…right…making Goku pay' she thought lazily, her eyes resting on Goku's worried face for a second 'sweet Kais above, he's sexy' her mind briefly registered before her eyes moved past him completely. It was hard to focus on her hatred when her brain felt nice and mellow, like it had been immersed in a warm relaxing bubble bath, and her body felt like it was wrapped around a warm fuzzy blanket.

'Wow' she thought, 'look at how blue the sky is' and as her tongue swiped a trail of wetness on her dry lips, she couldn't help but revert back to her vision of that waterfall. 'Butterflies' she thought, the vision filling her mind again. She was shrouded by mist under the waterfall, hundreds of colourful butterflies swarming her, humming a sweet tune like that song Pan used to listen to when she was a teenager…'wait a minute' her brain commanded 'butterflies don't sing…do they?'

"CHICHI!" Goku said more loudly; when all she did was stare up at the sky

"I thought this might happen" Mr Popo said, shaking his head in observation

"What? What happened? Is she okay?" Goku said urgently as he looked up into the black orbs of the caretaker.

"I think Dende's energy might have intoxicated her" he explained.

Goku looked back to his wife with slight apprehension. 'Intoxicated?' he had been expecting Chichi to jump to her feet and give him hell. Maybe to even try to attack him again, but this…this was just…weird

"Chichi, if you can hear me, say something" he urged her

Chichi sighed, shifting her eyes from the sky to look at her husband. She remembered that she wanted to hurt him, and she remembered what he had said about kissing another woman, and even though she knew she should get up and teach him a lesson, shout, yell, scream, anything…she simply felt too good, too relaxed, like the after glow of an intense orgasm. She simply couldn't get over how beautiful everythin looked. The sky with its infinite blue spread across the sky, the blooming plants with their colourful flowers, and most of all….Goku. He was without a doubt the single most beautiful thing she had ever seen, and she hated him for it.

"Chi, are you okay?" Goku spoke gently, looking directly into her eyes

"Remember when I was pregnant with Gohan?" were the words that came out of her mouth

"Huh?" Goku kept staring, confused

"We flew on Nimbus through that waterfall, remember?" she said wistfully

"Um…the waterfall, yeah, I remember" He had no idea where she was going with this, that sporadic stop at the waterfall had been years, and years ago. And what on earth did it have to do with anything?

"We flew straight through the showers, and camped out in the cave overlooking the downpour, remember?"

"I remember, your hair got all puffy from the mist" he said, remembering how her enlarged breasts had pressed up against her wet shirt, every time she had lifted her arms in an attempt to smooth out her hair

"We made love on the slippery rocks, remember?" she said softly, the memory making her skin heat up even more than it already was

"I remember" Goku said, equally as soft, running his tongue to moisten his lips at the seventy-something year old memory that suddenly flashed before his eyes…

"Remind me to take an umbrella next time we go on this thing" Chichi complained, trying to use her hands to shield herself from the sun

It was hot and humid and Nimbus seemed to be taking them closer and closer to the fiery burning ball of daylight

"Aw, come on Chi, it's not so bad" Goku said, shifting their position on the cloud so that his body could act as a shield

"Look at me Goku, my stomach is so big, I can't even see my toes when I'm standing. And my hands are swollen, my feet are swollen, my knees are swollen, my…" she ranted

"Your breasts are swollen" he said hotly into her ear, grinning as his hand moved to cup one of her enlarged breasts

"You know Goku, for someone who was supposedly innocent when we got married, you sure can't keep your head out of the gutter for longer than five minutes" she said, slapping his hand away from her breast. They were so sensitive now, and Goku sometimes forgot his rather unusual strength

"How can you expect me not to think about it when you look so good, and smell so good, and mnn…taste so good" he said, nibbling her ear

"Goku! Stop!" she giggled, moving her head away from his mouth

"C'mon Chi, you can't put a delicious, scrumptious dessert in front of me and expect me to control myself, you know I can't" he said, leaning in to her ear again

"GOKU! For the last time, I AM NOT FOOD!" she screeched, but Goku just laughed

"Look at that…" he pointed down, tapping nimbus gently to instruct the cloud to slow down so they could take in the sights

Chichi followed his finger and gasped at the sight.

It was majestic!

It was the widest, longest curtain of falling water she had ever seen, and throughout their travels, she had seen a number of waterfalls.

The first impression was unmistakable; immense power, she could practically feel the raw energy unleashed as she watched the entire river leap wildly into a black abyss. The spectacle was spellbinding and perpetually changing. The falls were hissing and roaring as if possessed, they rumbled and crashed like thunder. Vast clouds spewed and billowed out from the seething cauldron of its dark impenetrable depths. The moving water creating a magnetism that sucked them closer, and closer until they were literally flying through the thundering showers, completely drenched, losing visibility but unable to focus on anything other than the splendor.

"C'mon Chi…" Goku said excitedly, taking her hand and leaping down to the floor inside the cave that stood overlooking the curtain of showers from the inside

"GOKU!" Chichi screamed as she slipped and began to fall when her bare feet touched the slippery rocks.

"I gott'ya Chi, see…" he said, his arms already wrapped around her

Chichi supported her stomach with her hands, slightly waddling as she took in the humid cave

"You think anyone's ever been in here before?" she wondered out loud, releasing her stomach, using her hands instead to reach up to her head to smooth down the frizzy locks of hair that were getting puffy from the humidity.

"Nuh…" Goku said, bringing Chichi closer as he powered up

"Mnn…that's nice" she sighed into him, as the warmth from his ki enveloped her, drying off their wet clothes.

"Ow!" she suddenly yelped

"Whoa!" Goku jumped back when he felt the jolt coming from her stomach "…was that the baby?" he squatted down on the ground, staring intently at her swollen stomach

"Get him to kick you again Chi, I wanna see…" he said excitedly

"Are you crazy? This baby kicks like a horse, I much prefer it when he's sleeping" she said, rubbing the spot that was starting to bruise underneath her clothes

"Why don't you just push him out Chi, then he can practice his kicks in the air" Goku suggested

Chichi rolled her eyes as she continued to pat down and smooth down her hair

"I'm only seven months pregnant Goku, I've told you, it will be another two months before he's ready to come out"

"I don't know Chi, I think those books got it wrong, look at the size of this thing, looks to me like you're ready to pop" he said bluntly

"GOKU!" she huffed "I'm not that big!" she said, still trying to smooth down her hair.

Goku chuckled, sweeping her off her feet as he settled down on the rocks with Chichi on his lap

"No, you're not, you're still as light as a feather" he murmured against her cheek

"Only to you superman" she said, wrapping her arms around his neck as she leaned in for a kiss

It didn't take long before his hands were everywhere, before his lips were everywhere, before their damp clothes were tossed and forgotten, and right there on the slippery rocks of the cave, despite the discomfort of the hard ground, and the awkwardness of joining their bodies with Chichi's monstrous stomach, they still found a way to make long passionate love, the showers of the waterfall muffling out their passionate cries.

"You used to be all over me, like a wild animal in heat" she smiled in remembrance, at the memory

"Chichi…" he started to say, his throat tight and dry from the memory

"You said you had never tasted anything quiet as sweet, quiet as delicious as me, remember?"

"I still haven't" he said, his eyes roaming over her figure with that primitive glint that never seized to send shivers down her spine

"And the woman?"

"Woman?" Goku blinked, 'what woman?'

"The whore you kissed today, did you tell her the same thing?" her voice went from being dreamy and wistful to harsh and cold in a second

"Huh…of course not, Chi…" he began to explain

"How many have there been?" she asked him, unable to stop herself

"How many what?" he blinked again in confusion

"Other women, you know, all those years you spent at Uub's village, I bet…"

"Chichi, don't do this, you know I would never…" he began to defend himself. He had never, ever cheated on Chichi and it really bothered him when she began to talk like this. She had never accepted the fact that he had remained celibate whilst training Uub.

"Take me to the waterfall Goku, we always said we'd go back one day, but we never did" her voice changed again, her eyes glazing over with serenity once more at the thought of that majestic place

"W-what?" he stammered, that was the last thing he thought she'd ask

"I can't imagine a more perfect place to just…relax" she said closing her eyes to imagine herself gliding down on Nimbus as the rays of the sun shone on the descending masses of foam, to form a double zone of prismatic colours whose depth and brilliance were unrivaled by any ordinary rainbow.

"You want to go now, as in right now, with me? Just to…relax?" he sounded incredulous

"Yeah, why not, somewhere you gotta be?" she chuckled at how cute he looked when he was confused

"Well…not until the spaceship is complete I guess" he said, though his face was still set in confusion

"So…what's the problem?" she asked him

"I just think that you're not yourself right now, and I don't want you to get mad about this when you…when you're feeling more like yourself" he told her honestly

"I've had such a miserable existence in the last thirty-five years, you've seen it for yourself, is it so wrong to want to spend a bit of time in a beautiful place Goku?" she asked him, she was just following her emotions at this moment, genuinely confused by his confusion, after all, she didn't exactly realize that she was high from Dende's energy

Goku sighed, she said this now, under the influence of the red pipe…but what about after…"No, it's not wrong, let's take Nimbus and go, but first…I should stop by Capsule Corp and tell the kids, they were worried about you, Goten and Trunks fused so they could attack me, they thought I'd hurt you" he said, deciding to take his chances, maybe going back to that place of so long ago might stir up some old feelings for him

"You did hurt me Goku, many times over" she said softly

"Chichi…" he breathed, touching his forehead to hers, taking in her smell. He couldn't bare the truth in her words. He might have not physically hurt her like the boys seemed to think, but…the emotional beatings she had taken from his callous and selfish treatment of her over the years were a million times worse "…I know…" he whispered, his throat constricting from the weight of the emotion "…I know…" he said, closing his eyes to savour the moment of having the woman he loves in his arms without her thrashing and writhing violently to get away from him.

"MOM!" Gotenks dashed to Goku's side as soon as he appeared back at Capsule Corp with Chichi in his arms.

And to everyone's shock, Chichi started giggling.

"Gotenks" she said between giggles "…look at you…all geared up to protect your mother…" she grinned "…you're such a handsome little sweetie…" she said, cupping and pinching his cheeks "…my adorable little warrior…" she continued to baby him

"Mom!" Gotenks whined, embarrassed, his cheeks taking on a tint of red

"I'm fine sweetie, I just hit my head, that's all, nothing to worry about, okay" she assured the embarrassed warrior, placing the tip of her index finger on his nose affectionately

Gotenks shuffled his feet, he was a warrior not a baby, this was so embarrassing

"Okay" he said, his head bowed, he didn't want Gohan and Vegeta to tell him, we told you so

"That's a good boy, now…" she said languorously, her arms wrapping around Goku's neck once more "…Goku and I are going on a little trip, we'll be back okay" she coed over him, even more so than she usually does

"Okay" he said again

"Trip?" Gohan stared at his parents in disbelief. He had seen that lethargic expression on his mom's face before, and it was usually preceded by some rather loud and embarrassing sounds from their bedroom. He had no idea that she was just high. He tried to cover up his embarrassment as he wondered how they could have forgotten that the fate of the world was hanging in the balance. Had they forgotten the emergency trip to space?

"Kakarot, I demand that you tell me what the hell you meant about rejuvenation tanks!" Vegeta spat out, completely disgusted, there was no doubt in his mind that Chichi wore the after-glow of sex, even if he couldn't smell it off of them, it was disgusting. And damn it all, he had waited long enough for an explanation!

"Bye!" Goku grinned, before he vanished out of sight

* * *

**_That's chapter 9 Part A you guys…hope you enjoyed it. _**

* * *

**_Chapter 9 Part B contains Mature content as is thus published separately as 'The Waterfall'._**

**_If you want to read it, you can find it on my profile under my list of stories. _**

* * *

**Kawaii248**: Hi there, I know it's been a while, but the good thing is that exams are over, and thus I have more time to write. Thank you very much for your review, I hope you liked this chapter, I was having so much fun writing it

**Ant the awesome: **he heh he, I love your pen-name! thank you so much for that, gosh, it's so nerve wracking though, coz now I have to keep checking everything I write ten times, hoping it will meet the standard. I hope you continue to enjoy the story and gosh, I'm so flattered

**Hmrtaylor: **lol, she sure did get angry real quick! But you know what they say, it's a thin line between those two emotions, love and hate, let's see which one will win out in the end. Thank you ever so much for your review, it really made me laugh, totally making it worth it to be writing this fic

**Ninjapuppies: **hi there, hope all went well with your exams as well, still waiting on the results for mine *sweats*

**Bitchilooklikegoku:**see, the hiatus wasn't so long, was it? lol, but I'm back, all done with school work for now, sooo….fanfiction-away, all the way :D its difficult to pick sides isn't it? poor chichi, and poor goku! I'm ever so glad to find that you are enjoying the story, and ahem, allow me to take this opportunity to say, PLEADE UPDATE YOUR STORY, shoo, there, I've taken advantage :D I hope you had fun with this chapter as well

**The gansta of love: **hah, hah, hah, I laughed so hard when I got your review, thank you for that, yeah, Goku's back, and dare I say, he's got a plan…hope you enjoyed this chapter as well

**Missysullivan**: hah hah, hah, I really enjoyed that as well, lol, I'm glad you've been having fun with the story so far, and hey, on chichi's behalf, thirty-five years waiting on one man is no easy feat! But shame, poor goku, I love them both so much, its difficult…lol

**Felicia: **thank you so much, hope you enjoyed this chapter, not as long as some others, but definitely longer than the last one

**Mychakk: **I'm glad to see that you're starting to warm up to chichi, lol, and yeah, it wasn't all biscuits and roses for goku either in those thirty-five years, thanks for the reviews, I really found myself coming back to reading them, so many times, they bring me such joy!

**Oznerol: **hah hah hah, I just loved your review! You'll see in two chapters down the road though what he meant about the whole 'eternity' thingy, thank you so much for taking the time to review

**Rose: **hi there, thank you ever so much for dropping me that review, so glad you were enjoying the story. Did you read any other stories? Just curious if you did, and what you thought of them if you did. Anywho, thanks for that review

**Chichiforever:** hi there, sorry for that bit of a cliffy, lol, but looky, here I am, new chapter:D hope you enjoyed it

**Majincc: **so true, he's such a sweetie, but such a terrible husband! Can he redeem himself? Thanx so much for your review, I really, really enjoyed it

**Laurentaylor14: **it makes perfect sense to me, that's how I see him as well. Only taking charge when the situation calls for it, coz ordinarily he's just so laid back and blaze, I'm glad I'm not the only one that sees it that way. Hope that little bout of hiatus wasn't too long, I just wanted people to know so that they don't wonder if the story is abandoned or not. But alright, here I am, back in full swing, coz exams are a thing of the past – for now in any case, lol, thank you ever so much for that review!

**Zfj**: you humble me, truly, thank you for giving this story, this couple a chance, I hope to convert you, lol, just kidding, but it speaks volumes, that you are even reading this in the first place, so thank you, thank you, thank you

**Kyra storms**: hi, once again, thank you ever so much for that review, it really made me laugh, and I really needed a laugh too! I hope you enjoyed this chappie as well

**Elizabeth**: I know, poor woman! I could clunk akira on the head for poor chichi's plight in the show, hope you enjoyed this chapter

**Jrik23**: hi there, thanks for the review and yeah, gt was really just…not good

**Serina Tsuki**: I'm back, I'm back, I'm back, NO MORE HIATUS, lol, thank you so, so much for your lovely review, it really put a huge grin on my face, totally made me want to keep writing as soon as possible – thank you for that! I hope you also liked this chapter

**Firework's feelings: **thank you so much, I hope this chapter was to your liking as well, thank you again

**Almightyswot**: hah hah hah, loved your review! Thank you so much

**SierraLarson**: all in once go huh? Wow, thank you so much for your review!


	10. Chapter 10

You guys, I had to get cracking right away on this chapter after your hilarious reviews. You guys are awesome!

**Disclaimer:** I own nada, zip, zilch, nothing, letho

Chapter 10

Chichi yawned as she inched closer and closer to the wonderful source of heat radiating towards her body. It was so nice, so warm and comfortable, reminding her of those glorious days when she used to wake up to find Goku gently snoring beside her. 'Oh Goku' she thought absently, snuggling even closer. And as the warm pillow she was lying on began to rise and fall in perfect rhythm with the soft sounds of an unmistakable snore, 'wait a minute' she halted, 'my pillow is rising and falling? Making soft noises?'

Her body immediately stiffened, her eyes flying open.

"AH!" she screamed, bolting to her feet, surprising the hell out of herself by landing in a flawless fighting stance, 'at my age really?' she marveled at her agility. But that didn't last very long as in a second she registered that she had been lying with, and on a naked man, not a warm soft pillow, but a naked man.

'Urgh', she felt sick, sick, sick to her stomach. 'What kind of depraved NAKED pervert would sneak into the bed of a dried-out old woman?' she fumed, disgusted as she quickly began to look around for her walking stick, so she could use it as a weapon against the shameless perverted intruder.

"AH!" Goku yelped at the same time as Chichi's scream. He had been sleeping soundly when Chichi's screaming penetrated through his dreams and startled the shit out of him. He also bolted upright, only, his bolt was so fast and so high that his head embedded itself in the ceiling, breaking through the white board, causing tiny bits of chalk to float down leisurely to the mattress.

Chichi halted her search for her walking stick when she came face to face with her unfamiliar surroundings and proceeded to rub her eyes to make sure that she was seeing correctly. This was no perverted stranger! This was…Goku…GOKU? She stopped breathing for just a second, her emotions beginning to soar, GOKU?

She let herself take in the miraculous and magnificent sight of her husband. She felt herself go weak at the knees at the sight of him…had he…had he come back to her after all these years? Had he finally returned from his disappearance with Shenron?…her breathing resumed and her eyes began to moisten with tears of joy at the magnitude of the situation. He had…he had come back, he had come back to her after all!

But as he began to pull his embedded head out of the ceiling, descending gracefully to land and stand on his feet beside the bed, she noticed _it_ on his chest. The wound, the wound she had inflected on him with her bare teeth two nights before, whilst trying to struggle out of his unwanted embrace, and just like that, her mind cleared, the excitement died as she remembered that she wasn't an old woman anymore.

This was no dream come true. This was that nightmare of her new reality. Just to be sure though, she checked herself over, and yep, her smooth and youthful hands confirmed her suspicions. This was no dream come true. Goku was only here because of the wish.

'WAIT A MINUTE!' she shrieked in her head, looking herself over. 'I'M NAKED' she thought, before glancing over to an equally unashamedly naked Goku 'AND HE'S NAKED!' she noted the blatantly obvious, just as a hot memory filled with curtains of falling water, prisms of blending colours, mist and slippery rocks pushed itself to the forefront of her consciousness

'NO!' she thought in horror, covering her breasts with her hands, as she began to back away, only to hastily drop one hand to cover her crotch as she extended her remaining arm to cover both her breasts

"ah…ah…Goku…yes…yes…" the memory continued to broadcast itself against her will

'NO, NO, NO!' she shook her head in denial, but there was no denying the stickiness and tenderness between her legs. There was no denying what was vividly replaying itself in her mind.

"…oh…Goku…" her own passion-filled treacherous voice replayed itself in her mind. The horror, the realization of what she'd done with him the day before in that cave; knocking the wind out of her

"I'll never forgive you for this!" she told him, before turning tail and practically taking the door down in her haste to get away from the room.

Goku stood watching the conflicting emotions as they played themselves out. At first her face had reflected a flicker of hope and happiness before moving on to disappointed realization. Those two emotions had been followed by a brief moment of confusion, which was quickly followed by brimming anger. The denial that followed was intense and plain to see, as if the realization of what they'd done in that cave was the most repugnant thing on the face of the planet. He could only watch with quiet discontent and an aching heart as she settled on fury before she turned tail and ran.

He cursed his foolishness for thinking she would be okay with this in the morning. She had just been so relaxed and pliable, so willing and giving, so much like the wife he had left behind that he had allowed himself to pretend that she was not acting solely because of the influence of the red pipe.

Truly, he hadn't been able to restrain himself. He had allowed the thirty-five year old need to come pouring out, he had thrown caution to the wind and made love to her, over and over again in that cave. And when the air got too humid and cold, he had transported them away from the waterfall, back to Capsule Corp, where they had spent the whole night indulging their more basic desires.

Finally spent, he had let her sleep while he talked to Bulma and the others about the trip. The spaceship was ready to take off this morning, and they were all supposed to reconvene for breakfast, ready and fully packed for take-off.

Quietly he had snuck back into bed, praying that she would be just as pliable, just as accommodating in the morning as she had been last night.

Vegeta was right, he was truly an idiot.

And now…now he had to go after a furious and naked Chichi roaming around the Capsule Corp corridors.

"Shit" he muttered, pulling on his boxers, before grabbing a robe, and quietly sneaking out after her.

Sekei checked his luggage one last to make sure he had everything. One, two, three, he made mental checks of his most important items and nodded, satisfied, that he had everything.

With practiced delicacy, he closed the suitcase and zipped it up. He glanced around the neat room to make sure he hadn't left any item lying around and opened the door with one hand, while the other held a firm grip on the telescoping handle of his suitcase. As he exited the lavish guest room in Capsule Corp, he took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for the adventure that lay ahed. With one swift motion, he wheeled his suitcase out of the room and into the passage, before he gently closed the door behind him.

He had just started walking down the passage about to turn the corner that would lead him out to the staircase that would take him down towards the dining room as instructed by Bulma when…BAM…the force of something hard hitting him square in the chest, surprised him.

He lost his grip on the telescopic handles of his luggage, practically tripped over his suitcase, and landed butt first on the soft carpet, and before he could gather himself, something, or rather someone landed right on top of him, further knocking him back, making his back and his head hit the floor.

He was seeing it, but he still didn't believe it – the most beautiful face on the most magnificent naked body he had ever laid eyes on, was trying to scramble off of him 'wait a minute, NAKED, she's naked' his thoughts raced, just as his nose started to tingle at the sight of this butt naked goddess.

He stopped breathing and stared, his frantic heart thumping excitedly against his ribcage.

"I'm so sorry" he apologized, his voice low and raspy, the woman seemed to have been running from something, and in her haste, she had obviously not noticed him blocking her escape root in the passage.

The dark haired woman stared back, startled and flushed, fruitlessly trying to cover up her nakedness with her hands. Sekei, scrambled to his full height. He was tall, about six foot or so, with great posture and broad shoulders. He was openly handsome, with his flushing chiseled cheeks as he immediately began to shrug off his blazer, offering it to the woman so she could cover up her nakedness.

He tried to compose himself by brushing off the small trickle of blood beginning to peep out his nose, and nervously ran his hand through his short spiky midnight-blue hair as she took the blazer from him, all the while praying that his nose would not betray his immediate attraction to her any further. Her soft mounds had felt so warm and soft against his chest, it was all he could do not to groan from the memory.

"Are you okay?" He asked her, especially noting the pool of moisture glistening in her dark sad eyes. He found himself drawn to the despair and sadness living in those spellbinding orbs, and even though he didn't know her, he found himself wanting to help her. She looked so small and helpless standing there with only his large blazer that looked to be three times her size.

He wondered what had happened to her, a woman didn't just come flying down the passage spotting those sad eyes in the nude if everything was alright.

When she still didn't speak, he took a step towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder, so he could try to offer her some assistance.

"Can I call someone for…" he was beginning to say, when he suddenly found himself slamming hard against a wall.

"Keep your hands off my wife!" a harsh voice came out of nowhere.

Goku simply couldn't believe his eyes, he had taken but a few seconds to put on his boxers and to grab a robe so he could offer it to Chichi before he followed after her, and when he had finally made his exit out their guest room and down the passage, he had…come face to face with this man, trying to touch her.

Ordinarily he wouldn't have thought anything of a light touch on her shoulder, but the knowledge that she was completely naked under that blazer, the knowledge that the blazer must belong to this stranger, and the knowledge that before the blazer had covered her body, the man had dared to feast his eyes on the magnificence that was Chichi's body, a magnificence by rights only he had a right to feast upon…had just made him…made. And then there was the matter of the small trickle of blood coming from the strange man's nose!

No, ordinarily Goku wouldn't have minded, but that particular scene… something had just snapped, and before he could process the foreign emotion, he had already tossed the offending man against the wall

Sekei found that it was not so easy to get up this time, his whole body was aching. Still, he pushed past his pain and discomfort and stood up, holding his hand out in a peaceful gesture

"I was just trying to see if she needed help…" he explained his harmless intentions to the angry half naked man that had just come out of nowhere. "…does she?…" he asked sternly, ready to jump in if it turned out that the person the dark haired woman was fleeing from was her obviously violent husband. He had no tolerance for men that abused their spouses, none what so ever.

Goku didn't miss a beat, it was obvious that this strange man thought that he had done something to Chichi. Okay, he had, but…it wasn't what the guy was thinking.

"She's fine" Goku said stepping towards her, unaware that his acation seemed threatening and intimidating, when she didn't speak up for herself.

"No disrespect intended, but I'd rather hear it from the lady herself" Sekei said, turning from Goku to Chichi, trying not to wince from the after effects of slamming full body into the wall

"Chichi, tell this w-wea…tell him you don't need his help" Goku said, narrowing his eyes. It was unlike him to dislike someone on sight, especially someone without an evil or sinister ki, but the way this man kept looking at his wife…gah…

The air was thick with tension as both men stared at Chichi, waiting for her to say something

Chichi had been struggling to process the invasive memories of the day before. She simply couldn't get past what she had done with Goku. It was like watching the actions of someone who looked like her from afar, yet close enough to observe every last sordid little detail. It had been _her_ idea to go to the waterfall, _her_ idea to go down memory lane, and it had been at _her_ instigation that they'd ended up making love, over and over, until Goku had taken them back to Capsule Corp. 'What possessed me? What could have possibly possessed me?' she had been lashing out at herself, when she suddenly felt herself bump into something hard before she began to fall.

She had realized with embarrassment that she had crashed into a stranger butt naked, a handsome stranger with deep blue eyes which seemed to be dramatically contrasted against his dark skin, yet befitting with his dark midnight-blue hair. Despite their precarious situation, she couldn't help but notice how the air around him spelled confidence. And as his face softened and flushed, she felt a tint of embarrassment for thinking that he had a nice smell, crisp and clean, like he had just stepped out of the shower.

The moment was awkward at best, and she could only be grateful that he had offered her his coat to cover herself up with.

She had been about thank him for his kindness and tell him that she was fine, when Goku had come out of nowhere, tossing the poor man into the wall. She had been so startled by that action that it had taken her a few moments to find her voice.

It was shocking, Goku was such a pure and gentle soul, he had never been one to shoot first and ask questions later, he never attacked unprovoked, even provoked, it took a while.

"I appreciate the blazer Mr…um…sorry I don't even know your name" Chichi found her voice, though very much embarrassed

"It'a Sekei" the stranger said, his voice slightly raspy

"I appreciate the blazer Mr Sekei, but I'm fine, really, just got a little carried away that's all" she blushed again

Sekei wasn't convinced by her words, abused women often covered for their husbands, but…apart from the sadness, the tears and the nakedness, she didn't have a single mark on her body. Nothing he could use as evidence to substantiate his theory of domestic abuse. Besides, he was meeting Bulma and the passengers in the kitchen; he would just have to run the story by the blue haired heiress, after all, if these people were here, they must be her guests and or friends.

"Then I'll make my leave" he said, giving Goku one last hard look, which plainly said 'this isn't over' before passing Chichi a soft smile. He then gathered up his suitcase, gripped it by the handles and began to drag it away.

"Oh" he turned around after a few steps "…I'll be in the dining room for breakfast, if I don't get to see you before my trip, please just leave the blazer with Bulma, she'll be able to get it to me" he said, turning around and continuing down the passage towards the stairs.

"What did you do to me?" Chichi whirled around angrily to address Goku, as soon as Sekei disappeared

"I didn't do anything you didn't ask of me Chi, please remember that" Goku said in his defense, but deep down he felt that he was in the wrong. He had known that she wasn't herself, even if _she_ hadn't.

"…_Chichi stop…"_ he had groaned, when her hand had reached into his pants _"…I-I won't be able to control myself for much longer…"_

"…_I don't want to stop Goku, I don't want you to control yourself, it's been so long, thirty-five years, thirty-five years…"_ she had whispered _"…I want you…and I'm going to have you…"_ she had told him plainly, and this was the memory from the night before that was currently pushing itself to the very surface of her thoughts

Chichi recoiled from the memory, shutting her eyes, in the hopes of shutting it out

"You did something to me, I know you did" her voice quivered, as she battled to keep her emotions in check "I thought I could keep up appearances for the sake of the children, but clearly you're not to be trusted, you've gone too far Goku, and as soon as we come back from space, I'm packing my bags and moving back to the palace" she hissed angrily, in a great effort not to shout "….you'll never, ever be within touching distance of me again…" she shoved past him and walked away

Goku phased in before her and grabbed her tightly by the wrist.

"We'll see" he said, tightening his grip on her, as he began to drag her back to their guest room.

"Let me go!"

"No!"

"I mean it Goku, let me go!"

"Walk"

"I said, let me go!"

"I said walk, I mean it Chichi, walk or get carried, your choice"

"I don't want to go anywhere with you, let me go!"

"Have it your way" he said, before he flung her over his shoulder

The dining table was filled with food, even if it was disappearing faster than the cooking bots could deliver it. Vegeta, Gohan, Goten and Trunks were greedily devouring mountains of food, whilst Bulma and Videl leisurely sipped their respective coffees.

"Woman, you should send one of the servant women to wake up Kakarot and his woman, it's getting late" Vegeta said between mouthfuls of food

"You haven't even packed Vegeta, you're one to talk" Bulma told him

"This is not one of your useless leisure trips woman, all I need is the armor on my back" Vegeta dismissed her, besides he knew that Bulma had already packed all kinds of useless earthling contraptions for him

"Fine, be like that, at least I won't be there to suffer your whining when you realize that you've forgotten something important" Bulma shrugged

Vegeta just rolled his eyes at all her fussing. He was a warrior for Kami's sake, he had and could survive with just the skin off his back. The woman didn't seem to understand that.

"Sorry I'm late Bulma" Sekei walked in, suitcase in tow

"Ah, goodie, you're here!" Bulma beamed "…don't worry, we're still waiting on two more, so you're fine…" she said, moving from her seat to take his arm "…guys, I want you to meet my dear friend and research partner, Dr Sekei Doi…" she announced proudly

Vegeta just scoffed, he hated all of Bulma's weakling friends or colleagues alike, and this guy was no exception

Gohan was the only one polite enough to get up from his seat, extending his hand out towards Sekei in enthusiastic greeting

"Dr Doi, it's a pleasure to meet you, my name's Gohan, I read your paper on overcoming atmospheric pressure a few years ago, it was very impressive" Gohan said enthusiastically

"Thank you Gohan, if I'm not mistaken, you sent in a few comments that greatly helped me in the simplification of…"

"hyper-sonic aero-elasticity equations" they said simultaneously and began to laugh good naturedly

"I'm glad I'll have someone to bounce ideas off of on this trip" he smiled, patting Gohan on the shoulder

"You're the captain?" Trunks glared at Sekei, unimpressed.

As soon as Goku had invited Goten and Chichi on the trip, Trunks had whined about going as well, until his parents gave in to him. Vegeta wasn't exactly enthusiastic about the trip, he could take it or leave it, space held nothing but bad memories as far as he was concerned. He had spent too much time cooped up in spaceships under Frieza to last him a lifetime. But, with Trunks determined to go, because Goten was going, Bulma had made it clear to him that he was to go as well – none negotiable, she had said.

She had also made it clear that she was sending an experienced Astronaut from Capsule Corp's Space Program to accompany them, since she couldn't make the trip herself – business commitments and all that. She was determined to send someone with the potential to bring back valuable scientific knowledge back to earth, as well as having someone on board, with the know how to operate, maintain and fix the spaceship should things go south.

"Aw man, I thought you said we're going with an Astronaut, not a doctor!" Goten whined, doctors were not his favourite people, the last time he saw a doctor, they had given him a shot. He shuddered just thinking about it.

"He's not a medical doctor Goten, he _is_ an Astronaut. Bulma just calls him Doctor because he has a PHD in Aerospace Engineering" Gohan explained

"Huh?" Goten just stared, confused

"He's an Astronautical Engineer" Gohan tried to clarify

Goten just blinked

Trunks rolled his eyes

"A rocket-scientist Goten, you know, like the guys in Spacemen, the ones with the cool space-suits?" Trunks volunteered, helpfully

"Oh…Wow…can I be a spaceman when I grow up?" he asked hopefully, addressing Sekei, the rocket-scientists from his favourite show 'Spacemen' were the coolest superheroes EVER. Well, with the exception of Saiyaman, but he was a real superhero, so it didn't count, he figured

"Sure…Goten, is it?" Sekei smiled at the little boy who looked exactly like the half naked man that had pushed him against the wall. It couldn't be a coincidence

"Alright!" Goten cheered, returning to his food

"Bulma, a word please" Sekei said quietly, pulling Bulma aside

"Something wrong?" Bulma asked him

"Um…maybe…" he said, not quite sure where to begin "…there was a…um…a naked woman fleeing in the corridor…" he began to say

"WHAT?" Bulma shrieked

"…shocking I know, but, I think she'd been crying. She bumped into me, literally, and knocked me on my ass…"

"Are you sure?" Bulma asked him incredulously, a fleeing NAKED woman? Really?

"…Of course I'm sure Bulma, I even gave her my blazer so she could cover herself up but then, this violent guy came out of nowhere and flung me against the wall" he told her

"WHAT GUY?" Bulma shrieked again

"Someone related to him obviously" he pointed in the direction of Goten "if it wasn't for the age and height factor, they could very well be twins" he finished

"Goku?" Bulma's eyes widened in disbelief. Sekei was talking about Goku and Chichi? She was the fleeing naked woman? Goku was the violent aggressor? Impossible!

"So you know them?" Sekei asked "…cause I think she was scared of him, I think he might be abusing her…" he said worriedly

And Sekei watched in disbelief as Bulma burst out laughing

"Bulma, I'm serious" he said, feeling just a bit put out by her reaction

"If you knew Chichi, you would be more worried that poor Goku was the one being abused, I assure you" she said between laughs, wiping the tears from her eyes. 'Chichi, being abused, as if!' she thought humorously

"Speak of the devil" Vegeta muttered under his breath, as Goku and Chichi made their entrance into the dining room. He had heard the whole conversation of course; poor Sekei couldn't have known that his attempted whispering was wasted on all those with saiyan hearing.

Still laughing, Bulma intercepted their entrance

"Goku, Chichi, just in time, I believe you've already met Dr Doi" she said, "…he's the Astronaut I told you about, Sekei, meet Goku and Chichi, the last two members of the crew…"

Chichi's cheeks heated up in embarrassment at the sight of the only other man to have seen her without her clothes on.

Goku tightened his hold on Chichi's wrist, as he locked eyes with Sekei. The other man straightened up to his full height, which was just about the same as Goku's, and as black met blue in a long and tense stare off, Vegeta's mood suddenly brightened, maybe this trip to space would be entertaining after all.

_That's chapter 10 you guys…I'm dying to know what you think…_

_I wrote the waterfall scence *cough-cough-love-scene-cough* but then I remembered that this story is T rated. I can't bump the rating after ten chapters, it would be a bit unfair to any sensitive or underage readers. If anyone specifically wants to read it, I'll brush it up and send it you via email or post it as a side-story, 'The waterfall' or something like that should be a suitable title. Let me know your preference_

**Just a girl:** here you go, an update!

**The gansta of love:** lol, you kill me

**Kiara:** I totally agree with you, in fact I remember saying the exact same thing when I was reviewing this story 'heartbreak in thirty seconds' about pan and trunks, coz the way that chichi seemed so lonely in that fic, I was just hurting so much for her

**Kawaii248:** lol, I don't think the sex has helped her relax at all, hah hah

**Tevinssj3:** hope you liked this one as well

**Majincc:** I love grand-kai, he somehow seems like a dirty ol'man to me, lol

**Elizabeth:** yep, she's definitely not amused

**Zfj:** Hah hah hah that's great news, lol

**SierraLarson:** let's be honest, goku kinda took advantage there, hah hah hah, it's not like he didn't know, lol

**Fireworks feelings:** glad you enjoyed that flashback, it was actually my favourite part of the chapter :D

**Ninjapuppies:** glad you enjoyed that last chapter

**Missysullivan:** your review just made me so happy today, thank you so much!

**passionCat:** I want some of that red pipe as well, hah hah hah,

**kyra storms:** so glad you enjoyed the little scene with gotenks, hah hah hah, I was so hopeful that we'd get some of him all grown up in GT, but…sadly not. I'm pretty sure that grown up Gotenks is pretty hot, and I'm sure not even Vegeta can rival him in arrogance, lol, hope you liked this little chappie as well


	11. Chapter 11

I can't thank you enough for all your valued feedback, here is that chapter

By the way, I have posted 'The Waterfall' as a side-story, for those of you who are interested in what happened between Goku and Chichi at the cave, ahem, read it at your own risk, lol

**Disclaimer:** I own Shinganga, not Goku or Chichi

Chapter 11

"Trunks, I'm bored" Goten complained from his position on the floor, where he sat leaning against the curvature of the spaceship wall

"Yeah, space sucks" Trunks agreed absently, his fingers working the controls of the portable game he was playing

"It's always night-time, I wanna go outside and play, but it's always night-time" he pouted, shoving his own game aside, he had pressed on it too hard, and broken the controls

"It's not night-time Goten, it's just that the sun is far from us, so we're always in the dark" Trunks tried to reassure him

"I don't wanna be a space-man anymore, space is boring, I wanna go home!" he whined, banging his head against the wall, repeatedly

"It's only been two-weeks Goten, jeesh, relax, and as soon as we get to the planet of the first dragonball, you'll see, they'll be lots of action. My dad said we could beat the aliens up, if they didn't hand it over, I can't wait!" Trunks dropped his game and balled his fists

"What if they just hand it over? Does it mean we won't get to beat'em up?" Goten turned his eyes to his excited friend

"I'm sure we can beat'em up anyway, just for fun" Trunks shrugged

"That's just mean Trunks. Gohan said to use our strength to protect, not to beat up aliens for fun" Goten pointed out

Trunks who didn't like to be contradicted, gave up trying to cheer him up "You know what Goten, why don't you go and bother Gohan then, see if _he_ has any fun ideas, since he's such a genius" he turned his back to him, sulking

"Aw…Trunks, don't get mad, I don't wanna bother Gohan right now, he's with Videl, I think they're doing homework" he pushed himself on his bum to sit right in front of Trunk's view

"Then go bother your dad then, leave me alone, since I'm so mean and all" Trunks purposefully turned his head from his friend

"My dad's still sleeping, he's always sleeping these days, I wonder if he's sick" Goten said sadly, his dad hadn't really talked to him much, since the whole Gotenks incident, even though he had said he was sorry. His dad just seemed to sleep…all the time. Goten felt really bad about what Gotenks said about his dad being a third-class, Gohan said it was not a nice thing to say, but it wasn't him, it was Gotenks!

"Hmm…" Trunks thought it over, "…I guess you're right Goten, two weeks in space and we hardly see him, except for mealtimes, at least my dad's always training, but your dad, yeah, he's always sleeping. Let's go take his temperature, that way we'll know if he's sick" Trunks suggested

"Okay!" Goten shot up to his feet, excited to finally have something to do

Goku tossed and turned in the bed. The bedroom that he shared with Chichi was well air-conditioned, but the lining of his forehead was glistening with sweat

"_I guess it's a good thing that he looks exactly like you, because the way you've been ranting about his dismal power level, I wouldn't be surprised if you started to question if he's even yours!" the dark haired-woman cried, holding baby Kakarot in her arms_

"_It's just difficult to bare Fasha, he has the lowest power level to ever be recorded in the history of our people, I just…I just can't believe it. It's only a matter of time before they come for him Fasha, they're going to turn him, and if we try to stop them…we'll be executed, you know the law" Bardock paced, frustrated by such a horrible curse, a son with such a low power level, they had to hand in over to the Turning ritual or face the wrath of the king_

"_I would rather see him die from my own hand than have him turned Bardock, you have to do something!" she gripped the infant tighter, the thought of her own son being turned as the law depicted, running shivers of fear down her spine_

"_Could you really do it Fasha, could you really kill him if it comes to that?" Bardock eyed her wearily_

"_YES! YES! I would rather see him dead than have his head shaved, his tail removed, his tongue and genitals cut off! I would rather see him dead than have him chained and whipped, commanded like a mule, forced to live a life of mindless servitude, treated worse than a pet!" she cried fearfully for her son_

"_Then…" Bardock placed a hand on her shoulder "…perhaps I can slip him in with the third-class infants being sent to conquer some weak planets" Bardock suggested_

"_You think you could? I mean, if they do a reading they'll discover that he's lower than even the lowest third-class and send him to be turned, I don't think we should risk it Bardock" Fasha hesitated_

"_I'm a scientist remember? I'll make a plan, I'll find a way to disguise his true power level long enough for him to make it into a space pod." Bardock assured her_

"_You hear that Kakarot, your father will make a plan. I don't care how low your power is, you're my son, mine, and I will not have you turned into a mindless grunting Eunuchus, with no prospect for education, freedom or mate. You will purge a planet for the empire and earn your right to be a third-class saiyan." Fasha coed to her son, who was looking up at her with big eyes_

"_Fasha, if we are discovered, you know what will happen." He said solemnly, but the look in her eyes said she was willing to risk it to see her son spared from his inevitable fate "…there is always the possibility that my vision will come to pass, and the whole lot of us will be destroyed, but even more likely is the possibility that he might be too weak to even manage a purge. He might not survive" Bardock trailed off_

"_We have to risk it Bardock, find him a planet with weak beings, ideally beings that resemble the Saiyans. Perhaps he could live amongst them for a while, gain a bit of strength through Likotsi, and when he's strong enough, he can start the purge" Fasha suggested_

"_I'll have to go through the databases and see what I can come up with. I'll also have to find a way to sneak the formulae for the healing-tanks into his programming so he can replicate it wherever he ends up. Prepare him and say your goodbyes Fasha, I shall be returning for him soon" Bardock declared before making his exit_

"_Oh Kakarot, how did this happen? How can you be so weak my son?" Fasha clung to him, pacing up and down their tiny quarters _

"_You will survive Kakarot, I know you will, you have my blood running through your veins and I am not a quitter" she said, her eyes slanting into slits _

"…_Bardock doesn't know this but I…I killed the first female he was supposed to mate. That was how much I wanted to be with him. You are my son, and you will survive…" she said heatedly _

"…_Always remember that no matter the odds, we do not give up, we do not quit, we go for what we want, we protect what's ours, no matter how unscrupulous, how low, how deceitful or conniving we have to be. You are my son Kakarot and you will survive" Fasha stroked his hair, trying to convince herself that she was not sending her son to his death_

"_Hurry, give me the boy" Bardock burst back into their quarters hurriedly "…we're in luck, I can sneak him onto a vessel right away…" Bardock told his mate_

"_Wha…TODAY?" she shrieked, burying her face in the infants hair "…that's too soon Bardock, I…I'm not ready to let go just yet…" she backed away to a small corner of the room_

"_Fasha, get a hold of yourself, show some pride, you are a saiyan warrior, your tears are pitiful and unsightly, now, give the boy to me!" Bardock barked_

"…_Kakarot…" she kissed his nose "…I have to do this Kakarot, survive, and find me again…I am not ashamed to cry for you my son, I am not ashamed of my love for you…survive…" she handed him over and covered her face with her hands as Bardock took him away, her heart tearing into two_

"Mother" Goku whimpered in his sleep, clutching the sheet covering him tighter as he turned, tears leaking from his closed eyes

Goten and Trunks stood over him, the thermometer they had been planning to use on him forgotten. They stood shocked, staring at the tears of the strongest warrior in the universe as they made their way down his cheeks

"You should get your mom Goten, I think he's dying" Trunks declared

"What? Trunks, don't say that!" Goten shoved him

"I'm just saying, he is a saiyan, so…he has to be in a lot of pain if he's crying, my mom once told me that the only time my dad ever cried was back at Namek, when he was dying, so…"

"MOM!" Goten bolted out of the room, screaming at the top of his lungs "MOM! HURRY! DAD'S SICK, DAD'S DYING!" he screamed

**Elsewhere in the spaceship…**

"…that's definitely NOT a word…" Chichi said, laughing as she tapped her finger of the scrabble board

"…it IS a word Chichi…" Sekei insisted, his eyes shining with infatuation from across the table.

The two of them were seated on bin-bags, across from each other in the recreational area of the spaceship, with a small wooden table between them as they played scrabble.

"…nope, not buying it…t" she shook her head and folded her arms stubbornly

Sekei smiled, exhaling a long breath as he stood up "…fine…look…" he pulled out a device from his pocket "…let's let judge dictionary decide, we'll just look it up and…"

""MOM!" the screaming startled him into dropping the small device on the floor "MOM! HURRY! DAD'S SICK, DAD'S DYING!"

**Yet, elsewhere in the spaceship…**

Videl gasped, surprised that he'd touched her there. Gohan retracted his hand guiltily "…I'm sorry.." he flushed, pulling his mouth away from her lips, and his torso away from atop hers

"…um…no…it's fine…" she blushed, her cheeks gaining the same colour as her lips as she sat up from the bed, her breast still tingling from the slight sensation of his touch

"…maybe we should…um…go to the recreation room, and get a snack…" he said awkwardly

"…or we can stay here, and…I don't know, finish what we started…" she suggested, making his eyes double in size

"…V-Videl…w-wha…w-what do you mean?" he gulped, she couldn't possibly be suggesting that they do THAT yet, he had barely had the guts to confess his feelings, to steal that first kiss… and now…

"No! No! No!" she said hurriedly "…I wasn't talking about going all the way, I was just…" she flushed, letting go of his hand, she didn't mean to give him the impression that she was THAT kind of girl, she just wanted to kiss him just a bit longer, though their ministrations were still clumsy from their inexperience, she really, really liked the feel of his mouth on hers

"…s'okay, never-mind, let's get a snack…" she changed her mind, feeling a bit embarrassed

"…Videl…" he said, cupping her face and tilting her head "…I…"

"MOM!" the loud scream made his heart jump "MOM! HURRY! DAD'S SICK, DAD'S DYING!" Goten screamed

Gohan promptly let go of Videl's face, shot to his feet and bolted out of her room

Goten reached the recreation room just as Chichi leapt to her feet, and at the same time Gohan came bursting out of Videl's door

"COME ON!" he cried, grabbing one of Chichi's hands, and one of Gohan's dragging the both with him and Trunks to Goku's room

_You are Kakarot, a third-class saiyan, son of Fasha and Bardock, you are on your first mission for the throne of Vegetasei, destroy all life-forms on Earth._

_You are Kakarot, a third-class saiyan, you may radio in once your mission on Earth is complete to await further orders._

_Kakarot, Kakarot, this is your father Bardock, this is not part of the usual programming, you are weak and must bide your time before attempting to complete your mission. Live and learn from the natives, train hard and use Likotsi to get stronger, then…and only then should you attempt to complete your mission_

_Kakarot…pay attention and commit to memory the formulae for the regenerative-fluid_

_Kakarot you should be in your sixth-month of travel now, this is a video of when your mother was pregnant, she wanted you to have this in your programming, so you would always remember her_

_Kakarot should you survive this mission, you might find that you are the only saiyan left, I fear that Lord Freeza is plotting to destroy us all._

_Kakarot should you survive this mission and find your way home one day, find a mate that is strong and relentless, once a saiyan mates, he mates for life_

_You are Kakarot, a third-class Saiyan, loyal to Lord Freeza and his empire, King Vegeta and his heirs_

_Kakarot this is your father Bardock, this is not part of the usual programming, I wanted to include this video of the 'Turning' ceremony so you would understand why your mother and I felt it was better to send you away than to keep you here where the law depicts that Saiyans of dismal power-levels like yourself be turned_

"_NO!" a young mother cried, trying to flee with her infant in her arms, but the second-class soldier just phased before her and struck her down_

"_Hand over the mutt" he spat at her in disgust_

_The woman tightened her hold on her child, even as a gush of blood came pouring down her eyes_

"_Hand him over, or die!" the soldier said contemptuously_

"_Please, he can get stronger, he can get stronger!" the woman pleaded, but the soldier had heard enough. He struck her again and snatched the frightened infant, dragging him by the hair and tossing him into a cage where four other infants stood crying, trying to break the bars down_

"_Prove yourselves worthy by breaking down these bars mutts, or suffer your fate. Planet Vegeta and the Cold Empire have only one use for weaklings" he sneered at the boys as they tried fruitlessly to break down the bars_

"_A true saiyan would not be held back by such pitiful bars, useless…all of you" he spat and hauled the cage into the air as he sped to the Turning Chamber_

_By the time he arrived with his cage, the 'Turner' was already waiting. She wasted no time with the sniveling mutts, one by one she yanked them out of the cage and shaved their heads. She then dragged them to the branding chamber and brutally cut of their tails, sealing the round wound with a hot iron rod shaped like an E at the end._

_The blood curdling scream from the child as the hot metal pressed against the raw wound, as the skin sizzled and the horrible smell of burnt flesh assailed her senses didn't touch her at all, she had done this lot's of times, and would do it many more times after this._

_The child practically trembling from the shock and the pain, the turner used the opportunity to slice off their genitals, as the second-class soldier held them down with their mouths pried open in order to facilitate the process of cutting off their tongues._

Goku gripped the sheets, sweat pouring from his forehead, the screams of the mutilated boys haunting his dreams

"…you see…" Goten sniffed at the sight of his father

"Dad…" Gohan shook him softly "…dad…wake-up…", he said fearfully, the last time he had seen his father like this, the heart-virus had been wreaking havoc with his system

_The infants choked on their own blood, gurgling and trembling as pain shot from all directions, without their tongues, they couldn't even cry out anymore, they were just tossed to the cage, left to heal on their own. _

_Some would live and be sold, to begin a horrid journey of life as a Eunuchus, and others would die, proving their worthlessness._

"_Get up mutt" the infant was kicked awake, chains slapping on his feet and hands, a whip crackling on his back_

"…no, no…" Goku groaned in his sleep, the gentle shaking from his son making him shrink away from him, away from the man with the whip that wanted to take him

Chichi held her hand against her chest, terrified of the familiar scene before her, her fingers nervously fingering her collar bone. It was a scene right out of her nightmares, from the days of the heart-virus. Her heart constricted as she subconsciously touched his forehead. It was warm, but definitely not feverish

"Goku?" she also tried to shake him, but he simply recoiled from her touch and seemed to shrink further into the mattress. Was he sick? How? When? She didn't understand

Sure, she had hardly said two words to him since they took off from earth two-weeks ago, so she wouldn't know if he had complained about being sick, but…

"Goku" she tried again, using a bit more force this time, her fear intensifying.

"_I said get up you stinking mutt" the boot cracked into his ribs_

"Mom, what's wrong with him?" Gohan asked, trying to hide his own fears "…was he sick last night? Why is he not he waking up?" Gohan shook him roughly now

What could she tell them? She had no idea if he had been sick! Last night had been like every other night since their first night on the spaceship. She kept her word and gave him the silent treatment. She would climb into bed silently, and remain rigidly on her side until she fell asleep.

During their first night in space, Goku had tried everything to get her to talk.

"I'm sorry about the shower Chichi, I don't know what came over me, please, say something, please talk to me"

"Chi, please say something"

"Chi"

"Chi"

"Please Chichi, talk to me, yell at me if you want to, please"

"Chi?"

"I'm sorry about the ring Chichi, please, I just got so angry I…I didn't mean it, really Chichi, please…"

"Chichi?"

He had tried everything, he had apologized, begged, pleaded, shook her, but…she had simply fallen back to that cold and blank stare, unmoved and unwilling to engage him in any way whatsoever. She had kept her mouth shut, not answering him, not looking at him, wanting absolutely nothing to do with him.

If only she had been as successful at keeping her mind from thinking about the wicked things he had done to her body in that cursed cave.

She had kept up the silent treatment from that first day, and when they were not in the bedroom they were being forced to share for appearances, it wasn't so bad because Goku had spent most of his time sleeping for some reason. She hadn't thought much of it, hadn't even contemplated the fact that he might have been coming down with something, she had simply been grateful to have him out of her hair.

She had kept herself busy cooking and cleaning, spending the rest of the time conversing with Sekei about this and that. In the last few days, they had spent almost all their free time together, they had a lot in common and Sekei had a great sense of humour.

She hadn't said a word to her husband in fourteen-days, not since that bitter argument after he had carried her like a sac to their guest-room after their run-in with Sekei in the corridor

_Goku phased in before her and grabbed her tightly by the wrist._

"_We'll see" he said, tightening his grip on her, as he began to drag her back to their guest room._

"_Let me go!"_

"_No!"_

"_I mean it Goku, let me go!"_

"_Walk"_

"_I said, let me go!"_

"_I said walk, I mean it Chichi, walk or get carried, your choice"_

"_I don't want to go anywhere with you, let me go!"_

"_Have it your way" he said, before he flung her over his shoulder, effortlessly keeping her there as she thrashed and kicked_

"_Put me down, put me down you big ape!" she pounded on him, but Goku just kept walking until they made it back to their guest-room_

"_Put me DOWN, NOW!" she screamed, and Goku carelessly dropped her on the bed, roughly removing Sekei's blazer from her body_

"_What the hell do you think you're doing Goku?" she asked him, once again naked before him_

"_This" he said, a small glow forming in his palm as he incinerated the blazer and picked her up from the bed._

"_Bastard!" she writhed as he opened the door to the bathroom and deposited her in the shower_

"_What the hell do you think you're doing Goku!" _

"_Getting his stink off my wife!" he growled, turning on the taps_

"_EEP!" Chichi screeched, as the water made contact with her skin, it was still cold, making her shiver as she tried to push past him to escape. She slipped on the tiles and fell instead._

"_Here" Goku grabbed a bottle of shampoo and dropped a giant blob on her head "you smell like him, get it all off" he told her, as he fought her, subduing her struggles to get up and escape him, while at the same time, lathering the soap in her hair and body_

"_Don't touch me, get your filthy hands off of me!" Chichi tried to fight him, but between the water and the soap, everything was slippery, making it impossible to succeed against him and his freakish strength. She only succeeding in slipping and falling numerous times, eventually having to hold on to him or the walls for support as the soap and the water poured down her face, forcing her to shut her eyes to avoid the sting of the soap_

_Goku shoved her under the downpour to rinse her out, luckily the water was hot now, just the right blend of hot and cold, so she had at least stopped shivering. He loomed over her and sniffed her, Chichi glared at him murderously, she would never forgive him for this_

"_That's better" he declared as he grabbed a towel and began to dry her off gently. Chichi tried to bolt, but his hands were firm_

"_Get dressed Chichi, I don't know why you insist on running out of here without any clothes on, do you want him to see you? Is that it?" he accused her, the rage and the jealousy of knowing that Sekei had seen and touched her, making him transform into something he didn't even understand himself_

"_I would rather have him see me than spend one more second with you!" she retorted bitterly_

"_Which of these dresses do you want to wear?" Goku ignored her outburst as he walked to the cupboard, his grip on her wrist firm_

"_This one?" he pointed at a random dress, but Chichi didn't even look at it, her eyes were blank_

"_Okay, this one it is" Goku said, yanking the dress out and forcing it on her, without any bra or panties_

"_There, see…that wasn't so hard" he said happily "I'll be five minutes in the shower, then we'll go and join the others" he let go of her wrist._

_Chichi stormed to the door and began to turn the handle to make her get-away, she was furious, she was just so…furious!_

"_Together, Chichi…you're not going out there without me" he phased in before her, but Chichi had no intention of waiting for him, she just averted her eyes and waited for him to make his retreat to the bathroom, then she'd be on her way_

_To her shock, a ring of shimmering golden energy appeared around her like a hula-hoop as Goku disappeared to the bathroom._

_She tried to step through it, but she couldn't. She tried to jump above it but she couldn't, ducking bellow-it – nope! She was trapped, she could make a few steps inside it, but beyond that, her efforts were pushed back. _

_Her anger was so profound; she feared she might implode from it. She never would have said that Goku would be capable of manhandling her like this. _

_A few minutes later, he emerged from the shower, looking magnificent as he began to dry himself off. Even as her body reacted to the sight of him treacherously, she kept her eyes averted, she would not look at him, she would not speak to him, not ever again._

"I don't know Gohan, why don't you guys clear out and let me see what's going on okay?" she placed her hands on their shoulders, turned them around and steered them out the room

"Goku, GOKU, GOKU!" she shook him "Wake-Up GOKU! WAKE-UP!"

But Goku just made a horrible wounded sound, water leaking from his eyes as he shrunk into the bed

The fear intensified. What would they do if it _was_ some kind of sickness, some kind of virus!

"Damn it Goku, don't you dare do this to me, don't you dare get sick on me, WAKE-UP!" she began to hit him, over and over again in frustration

"_Disgusting worthless trash, GET-UP!" the second-class soldier continued his assault on the battered and mutilated infant_

Chichi watched as Goku's face twisted and grimaced painfully, and she realized with painful clarity that her heart didn't have it in it to harbor such intense hate for him. Not when he looked so vulnerable.

Acting quickly she slipped into their en-suite and ran her wash-cloth in some warm water. Gently she placed it on his forehead, dabbing at the sweat, as she gently rubbed on his arms and chest soothingly, murmuring quiet words of comfort, just like she had all those many years ago

_Kakarot this is your mother, the Turning ritual is not part of your programming, but I needed you to see. To understand why I would risk sending you to purge with such a low power-level, why I would rather see you fail and fall to your death, than keep you and have you ripped from my arms, only to suffer the horrible fate of a turned life._

_Kakarot, as a warrior I might meet my death in any battle, we may never be reunited, survive, grow strong, never give up._

Goku began to relax at the sound of the blended soothing words from his mother and Chichi. His breathing eased and he opened his eyes to a comforting and warm sensation on his forehead.

Chichi halted her actions when his eyes opened. It was such a relief to see those eyes looking up at her with innocent confusion.

"Chi?"

"Oh Goku, you're not sick are you?" she asked worriedly

"Huh?" he blinked, rubbing his eyes "Sick, I'm not sick" he sat up, eyeing the wash-cloth in her hand curiously

"You've been asleep for hours, the kids tried to wake you, I tried to wake you, but you just…it was like…you were trapped in a painful nightmare" she whispered, wondering why she was so bothered by the thought

"I was" he said, rubbing his temples

"Well…I'm sure the kids will be glad to hear that it was just a nightmare, you really gave them a scare, you should stop sleeping so much Goku, come on out and interact with your children, they miss you" she told him quietly, making a move to leave the room

"Chi, wait" he grabbed her hand "were you…were you taking care of me?" he looked up at her

Chichi just averted her eyes, what could she say. Of course she was taking care of him, someone had to.

"I'm sorry about the shower and the ring Chichi, I don't know what came over me" he said, ashamed of how he had treated her. It was wrong to hold her against her will, to use force to bend her to his will. If the horror of the Turning ceremony taught him anything, it was that…he came from a race of barbarians, who used power to cripple those weaker than themselves.

Were the memories of his parents, of his brief time as Kakorot responsible for his unchecked anger? Just one day after retrieving them, he had manhandled his wife, something he had never done in the seventy-years that they had been married. Was that a part of him that had been lying dormant all these years? Or was it just the natural reaction of seeing his wife with another man?

"Let go" she said, glancing at where his hand was holding her

"Sorry" Goku said, and abruptly let her go "Thank-you for taking care of me" he said, his eyes as soft as butter

"Don't read anything into it Goku, nothing's changed between us" she said stubbornly

"…_Always remember that no matter the odds, we do not give up, we do not quit, we go for what we want, we protect what's ours, no matter how unscrupulous, how low, how deceitful or conniving we have to be. You are my son Kakarot and you will survive"_

"Oh but it has Chichi" he suddenly yanked her, her body toppling on top of his "…you're talking to me, aren't you?" he smiled, before crushing his lips against hers

"Why You!" she tried to slap him, but he simply caught her wrist and smirked "I do not want you touching me Goku, how many times do you want me to say it, just who the hell do you think you are?" she fumed

"Why, Kakarot of course, son of Fasha, and believe me Chi, I will never give up" he smiled lazily, and kissed her without her permission, again

Chichi shrieked, and struggled, did he just call himself Kakarot?

"What did you just say?" she eyed him fearfully, she must have misheard, she must have!

"I said…" he murmured "…that I will never give you up Chichi, never…" he released her, allowing her to bolt from the room

As soon as Chichi disappeared, Goku slumped to the bed and ran his hands through his hair.

"Mother" he whispered, crawling back under the sheets as he buried his face under the pillow.

Chichi appeared back in the recreation room, her face as white as a sheet, she must have heard him wrong right? Goku would never call himself Kakarot, and who the hell was Fasha?

"Mom? What's happened?" Gohan and Goten intercepted her

Chichi took a breadth, the last thing she needed was to scare her children, "…he's awake you guys, he was just dreaming that's all, he should come out soon, don't worry" she reassured them

"Are you sure?" Gohan asked, a bit reluctant to believe that everything was fine when his mother looked so pale

"He's fine Gohan, you can go check on him if you want, okay, I think I'm gonna get started on dinner" she declared, making her exit to the kitchen

Like every other night at dinner, Vegeta inhaled his food and took off to his room without a word to anyone. He missed the woman, not having been away from her for so long since the days of Cell, he missed her, and it irritated him, so he did what he did best – grunted his displeasure, and retreated to the privacy of the gravity-room, or his room.

Gohan and Videl ate, sitting side by side, casting sideways glances at each other, periodically blushing when one caught the other looking. Goten and Trunks squabbled about this and that, and Chichi and Sekei were engaged in an animated conversation

"…really? You and your friends tied yourselves to a tree?" she laughed

"…we were young and energetic, still idealistic as well so…" he shrugged

"…did you save it, did you save the tree?" she asked, fascinated

"…only for a while, they cut it down in the end…" Sekei stabbed his baby potatoes and shoved them into his mouth

"…well, at least you tried right? That's all that counts…" Chichi patted his hand

"…sounds to me like they quit, that's what…" Goku muttered, shoving a whole loaf of bread into his mouth.

Since that very first day on the ship, Chichi and this guy were always talking, always laughing, and Chichi was always enthralled by his ridiculous stories.

He really didn't see why Chichi was so interested in this guy's stories. What was so interesting about him forming a picket line to protest against a war? Did she forget that he had single handedly put a stop to the ways of the Red Ribbon army, effectively preventing war?

What was so interesting about him tying himself to a tree? A tree he didn't even save in the end, so what? _He_ had saved the damn universe, but did he get a pat on the hand – Nope.

Was he on the receiving end of her attention and smiles – Nope - just the silent treatment, he thought sourly

"Who's up for desert?" Chichi asked, rising from the table, choosing to ignore Goku's rude comment

"ME!" Goten, Trunks and Gohan yelled excitedly

"Need some help?" Sekei asked, walking with a stack of dirty plates he had collected from the table

"Thanks, sure…can you help me bring out the bowls of mousse please?" she pointed to a counter filled with giant bowls of chocolate mousse, anyone would think that Chichi was catering a huge wedding

"I still can't believe how much they eat, I still can't believe how much food you are able to cook in such a short period of time" he confessed

"It does take some getting used to" Chichi laughed

"You know, if you show me what to do, I can help out when you're cooking, I'm not very creative, but…I can manage a few practiced dishes" he told her, grabbing two big bowls of mousse from the counter

"Sure, that'd be nice" she said, grabbing the last two bowls as she headed towards the dining area

"Okay boys…one bowl each, no fighting!" Chichi warned, placing two bowls next to Trunks and Goten

Sekei walked around the table and placed a bowl by Gohan and one by Goku

"Thank you!" Gohan chirped happily, digging in

Goku just grunted and began to stuff his face when the whole table started to rattle

"Entering Planet Atmosphere" a computerized voice announced

"Everyone, strap yourselves in!" Sekei announced hurriedly, he had been so busy feeding his infatuation with Chichi the whole damn evening, he had forgotten their proximity to their first planet

The dining room table slanted, the remaining cockery sliding off and crashing to the floor, well…all but the big bowls of mousse which the saiyans with their quick reflexes were able to save.

Each one of them rose, their bowls tucked under their arms, the corners of their mouths stained with dark chocolate as they made their way to the control room to strap themselves in.

The landing was a bit rough, but it was nothing the ship wasn't prepared for. Sekei expertly flicked and punched on buttons, testing that everything was in order.

Satisfied, he turned to check on some readings to determine whether they could breathe the air of the planet or whether they would need their suits or oxygen masks, but to his horror, he turned around to find that the kids, including Videl and Goku had already shot out of the spaceship, laughing enthusiastically as they made cartwheels in the air.

Well, clearly the air was breathable, he sighed, collecting his gear. Bulma was counting on him to bring back any interesting scientific discoveries, he hoped this planet would have something original to offer.

"How come you don't fly?" he asked Chichi. She was peering at the zip and zap of her family outside

"That's a good question!" she laughed "…looks like fun, doesn't it?"

"Maybe Gohan can be persuaded to give us a few lessons, he sure did a great job with Videl" Sekei pointed to the laughing teenager

"Maybe" Chichi whispered, wondering why she was thinking that Goku would be a far better teacher than Gohan, though her son had obviously done an exemplary job with Videl

"Okay, the dragon-radar is already beeping, I guess we should head out as well and get this mission started?" Sekei offered her his hand

"I guess so" she smiled, taking it

_There it is guys, I hope you enjoyed it, I await to hear from you, your thoughts on everything…the good the bad, anything PLEASE!_

**Laurentaylor**: hah hah hah, no you're not! I find him quiet potent as well, lol

**Chichi's1fan:** you make me feel so bad! But I love Goku above all others, so that should tell you something, thank you for the review

**SoulRaker: **thank-you so much for the review, and I hope you get a chance to read 'The Waterfall', it's UP!

**Chichiforever:** thank you so much for taking the time to review!

**Kawaii248:** hah hah hah, i hope you enjoyed this chapter, after I got your last review, I started working on the 'shower' scene, hah hah hah, thanks for that! And I hope you get to read The Waterfall, I'd love to hear your thoughts, thanks again for the review!

**TheganstaOflove:** THANK YOU! Especially for your review of the waterfall, I am so glad that you enjoyed it, and so glad that you reviewed it.

**Kiara:** Aw, I don't know what to say, your review for The Waterfall really made me feel that the mood I was gunning for really came across. You made my day! Thank you.

**Ninjapuppies:** I typically like to include Vegeta in small doses in my stories, I find him so amusing, I'm glad you enjoyed that little snippet with him, lol, thank you ever so much for your continued support in this story

**Majincc:** hi there, Goten is just the cutest, aw…I could just eat him up. Thank you for the review, and your brother is a space-man? wow!

**shadowYashi**: I don't know what to say, thank you so much for your lovely review, I really, just really loved it to bits. I know, poor Goku, but poor Chichi, arg, poor both of them!

**SierraLarson:** HE IS! But that's why I love him I couldn't resist having a moment with him in this chapter as well! Hope you enjoyed it

**Neko-Jin-Pan:** hah hah hah, no it doesn't, Sekei totally saw EVERYTHING, no wonder Goku was murderous! Hah hah hah, hope you enjoyed the chapter

**Joy's Canvas: **Hah hah hah, he has been a bad boy, hasn't he? But we all know that Goku is not as innocent as he likes us to believe. Lets not forget, he was the one that suggested naked pictures of Bulma/Kisses (depending on which version your watching) as payment for Elder-kai for unleashing gohan's power, lol, naughty, naughty, GOKU!

**Goku and Chichi lover:** Thank you so much, thank you!

**KakarotSon: **I published it, I published it. I hope you get a chance to read it, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

**Terracotta rose:** thank you soooo much for all of your feedback, as they kept coming in, I was so happy, so, so, happy, thank you! And I really hope that you continue to enjoy the rest of the story

**Mossgirl615**: thanks for the review, and I saw that you put the waterfall under favs , but you didn't review *sad face* but that's okay, I'm just glad that you read and enjoyed it. hope you had some fun with this chapter as well

**Missingthepoint**: hi there, and wow, thank you for your review, and I agree, poor Yamcha, and poor chichi, and that Porunga is an ass, lol, I hope you will continue to read and enjoy the story, or did you stop at chp6, it's killing me not knowing! I can only hope that you didn't, lol

Darkryubaby: hah hah hah, your review is priceless, in the midst of most of the readers feeling bad for goku, it's good to find that someone is feeling frustrated on goku's behalf, I cant say that he doesn't deserve it, I love him, but he has been the worst husband in the world, but still, it's hard to be on the receiving end of a hateful chichi, thanks for the review!

**KYRA!:** HI! There are these horrible moments when you just seem to drop off the face of the fandom, lol, and I'm like, where did she go? Where did she go? It's scary cause as obsessive as it sounds, I really look forward to your feedback, and if I have a chapter out for like a week, without any word, I worry, O.O why isnt she reading, why isnt she reviewing, lol, yes, I'm not ashamed to admit that I look forward to your feedback. Don't run away, I promise not to trap you with a ki ring, lol, thanks for your review and I also just love a jelous Goku!

**Cherrystone: **hi and thank you, thank you so much

**Shan: **hi and wow, I'm so blown by your review, I really appreciate it, and I stress cause I want to keep the momentum going so not to disappoint you guys, thank you and I hope you continue to enjoy the story

**Saiyanivy:** it means the world to me that you're giving this story a chance even though you are not predominantly into gokuxchichi, thank you so much!


	12. Chapter 12

Thank you **SAIYANIVY** for giving me a nudge. It really helped me.

Thank you **SAIYAJIN-LOVE** for your encouraging words, for looking over this chapter for me and for your honest comments and recommendations. I still think you and I should learn the fusion dance and try it. SAIGUE would be awesome!

And thank you to all you guys for your support. Here it is…an update, after…eons…

**Disclaimer**: I don't own db/z/gt. I'm just in-love with Goku

**Chapter 12**

…

"ALIENS!" screamed the huddled group of natives, as they dispersed, running as fast as their violet little legs could carry them, disappearing behind the thick lushness of the forest. "ALIENS!"

Goten blinked, turning around, to check behind him.

Aliens? He didn't see anyone there but his dad and big-brother.

"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" they could still hear the frantic screaming of little voices, even though they couldn't exactly see where they had just disappeared to.

"What aliens?" Goten turned to his best-friend

Trunks covered his eyes with his hand. He loved his friend, but sometimes…

"They mean us Goten, we're the aliens" Trunks pointed out.

"What? I thought, they were the aliens." Goten scratched his scalp in contemplation.

"They are Goten. To us they are the aliens. But to them, we are the aliens. This is their planet after all." Goku explained calmly with a soft smile on his face. "Shucks, I guess we scared them ha. Poor little guys." He stood staring at the spot in the trees where they had all just disappeared into, pondering their next move.

"Did you see them Gohan, they were like, amethyst little people, they actually sparkled. Amazing." Videl marveled. The planet had looked so much like earth when they had first landed and started exploring, that she had half expected to encounter other humans lurking about in the green.

"Yeah, they're so tiny though. I think they must have been children" said Gohan, as they all stood in their little group, contemplating their next move.

"My, such pretty little darlings," was all Chichi was able to say. They looked like the fairies on her music box, except that these tiny creatures didn't have wings. They were small, at most knee-high, slim and elegant; their skin a beautiful blend of pink and lilac. It was clear to her that the dragonballs had dispersed a bit differently this time around, for Goku never talked about a planet of such creatures on his previous dragonball gathering expedition with Pan and Trunks.

"I think I got them on camera! This is soo exciting. Real life aliens, and sparkling ones too!" Sekei beamed, adjusting his hold on his camera.

Vegeta rolled his eyes at everyone's childish antics. He had seen more than enough alien species to last him a lifetime. He really just wanted this adventure to be over and done with.

"What does the dragon radar say?" Gohan asked

"The dragonball is straight ahead. Just where they disappeared to. I guess we have to follow them." said the astronaut. He wanted a close-up with those guys, an interview, and maybe an exchange of scientific ideas. He was already formulating questions in his head. This was going to be gold.

"Okay, let's go." said Goku. "Remember to be nice you guys, we don't want to scare them any further." Goku pointed out

"Pft." was all Vegeta was prepared to offer, as they made their way through the large and green leaves. Their sensitive ears could still pick out hysterical voices. It seemed as if the little ones were giving a report on what they just witnessed.

"But we sawww them. They were ennnnormous and ugly, with dull clothes, and they all had a big patch of creepy fur on their heads. Just like the forest animals. We're not lying!" One little voice was busy explaining as they stepped through the clearing, their eyes widening at the sight. It was unbelievable sheer beauty that greeted them.

"Dal-bo, enough! How many times do I have to tell you to stop making things…" her breath suddenly caught in her throat as she cast her eyes above Dal-bo's head… "…th-thi…n-ngs…" she stammered, the shimmer of her skin fluctuating rapidly from shock as the panic at the sight of the ghastly aliens shook her to the core. "AH! RUN, RUN, ALIENS!" the older alien immediately clutched little Dal-bo by the hand and began to run.

She had never seen such tall and ugly creatures before, they were practically horrifying. She had to make it to safety before they were eaten, for what else would hideous beasts like that want on their tiny little planet?

Her lean and graceful legs were practically bouncing in the air as she picked up speed in her haste to get away.

"Hey. Wait. Stop. Stop." Sekei waved his camera around, he needed a good shot of them and their movements, though graceful, were rather fast. He could hardly keep up with them.

Everywhere they looked, the aliens scurried in a panicked frenzy, mothers grabbing their young, running and screaming, their limbs moving in such grace, one would think it was a practiced dance.

"No. Wait. We come in peace. We come in peace!" Gohan waved his hands in what he hoped would be interpreted as a peaceful gesture.

Nope. None of them paid any attention to his words. They kept running and disappearing into their homes, shutting what could only be described as windows, while they were at it.

The village or city or whatever it was they had just come upon was just…unbelievable. It seemed to have been carved out of the shimmering quartz like substance abundant in the area. The little dwellings were all connected, forming a smoothly curved, spiral-like staircase, with walls that were sparkling in dancing colour. It was completely unlike anything they had ever seen before. If a city could be built out of crystals of jewels, this is probably what it would look like.

Gohan tried his best but, within a few minutes, there wasn't a single alien in sight. They had all disappeared into the sanctity of their dwellings. It was suddenly dead quiet, all the little crystalline windows shut. Not a sound, not one movement, it was as still as a rat hiding behind the fridge, when suddenly…

"LOOK OUT!" Goku, Gohan and Vegeta yelled simultaneously as they flung themselves out of the way. Gohan went straight for Videl, tackling her out of the way and on to the ground, the shimmering pink beam missing them both by a mile.

Goku went straight for his wife, snatching her out of the way a bit more elegantly than Gohan had managed with Videl, and Vegeta had grabbed the two boys, reeling though, because they should have had the sense to get out of the way. They were fast enough. Damn it they should have sensed the beams approaching.

"Ahhhh!" Sekei dropped to the floor, the beam engulfing him. He hadn't sensed it, hadn't seen it and none of the warriors had thought of him in their haste to save their loved ones.

He was burning. Burning up in pink flames, yet nothing seemed to be happening to him. His screams were loud and frightening the shrill within them becoming more powerful while the pink glow steadily engulfed him. It was comparable to a super-saiyan being engulfed in his golden shimmering energy.

More beams came flying at them, they dodged as much as they could, but they were coming out faster and faster, until all around them, a shimmering flame of pink was engulfing…everything. The ground, the shrubs, the trees, they could only hover in the air, in the safety of Goku's ki shield, listening and watching in shocked disbelief as the astronaut cried out in pain.

"What's Happening To HIM?" Chichi cried, watching him thrash about, his hands wildly touching at different parts of his body, yet not one spot of him seemed to be burning, his clothes, his equipment, his skin, his hair, it all remained intact, to the naked eye, the flames were not affecting him at all.

"EVERYBODY TOUCH, I'm getting us out of here!" Goku declared, moving quickly and putting two fingers to his forehead. He disappeared and reappeared next to Sekei. He knew he had to get him out of there, but he didn't know how safe it was for the others if he entered inside the shield. Making his mind up quickly, he peeked his foot out of the shield, extending it out, letting the tip of his boot touch a small surface of the astronauts thigh. Once he felt Sekei's energy connected with his own, he incorporated it with all the others he was carrying and focused. He let it all go as he abandoned himself to dematerialization. They disappeared and reappeared back in the ship.

As their feet touched the floor, Goku immediately removed his foot from Sekei, but his boot had already caught the pink flame. It too, started glowing.

Everybody backed away unsteadily from the astronaut as he continued to thrash and wail on the floor. Only Goku was steady on his feet, the instant transmission always left the rest of them feeling momentarily disoriented.

"What's happening to him Trunks?" Goten sniffed, appalled, at the sight. Whatever those flames were doing, it sounded painful.

Trunks just stared, his eyes as wide as his friends. "I don't know Goten, I think…I think he's…" but truth be told he had no idea what he thought.

"Do something!" Chichi cried, horrified by the sight and the inactivity of everyone. The poor man was burning, well sort of…and yet none of them seemed to be moving.

Videl was the first to react. She dashed to the wall and grabbed a fire-extinguisher. He was about to unleash it on him when…Sekei stopped thrashing, as the pink flames grew smaller and smaller, and within five seconds, they disappeared completely.

Chichi and Videl rushed to his side. He lay on the floor, his eyelids blinking rapidly, panting like he was in pain, but as they gazed down at him, he seemed…fine.

"Sekei, are you okay, are you hurt?" Chichi was crouched next to him, trying to help him up with the aid of Videl on the other side.

All the men seemed to just stand around and stare.

"I…hhh…hhh…can't move…h-hurts" he stammered, his eyes fluttering wildly.

"Where…where does it hurt, you're not burnt anywhere…" Chichi said. Together with Videl's help, they sat him up on the couch, feeling him up to check if he had any injuries or burns under his clothes.

"I…hhh…hhh…h-hurts" was all he could breath out.

Chichi and Videl looked at each other, not sure what to do. "I'll go to the sick-bay and get him some pain killers." Chichi decided on a course of action. Leaving Videl to keep an eye on him she started to walk away when…

"Ow, Ow, Ow, Ouwie!" Goku started hopping around on the foot that had made contact with Sekei.

"This is a waste of my time. He doesn't have a scratch on him! Neither do you Kakarot." Vegeta barked at the astronaut and Goku.

"You guys, seriously, something's happening to my foot." Goku said, plopping himself on the couch next to Sekei as he removed his heavy boot.

Everyone crowded the couch, their eyes fixated on Goku's foot. It looked soft and surprisingly chubby, but there was nothing there to see.

"Sweet Kami!" Gohan suddenly exclaimed, his eyes growing wide as he pointed with his finger

They all stopped staring at Goku's foot and glanced to what Gohan was pointing at. "Look at his hands, something is happening to them" Videl was the first to point out the obvious.

"AH!" Goku's scream interrupted their staring, Goten and Trunks joining in when they saw the state of his foot. Gohan stared and gulped, Chichi panicked, her eyes darting between Sekei's fingers and Goku's foot.

She gulped.

Goku began to roll up his pant leg to check on the extent of the damage, as Chichi rolled up Sekei's sleeves, to check the same. Just as she'd feared, her suspicions were confirmed, just like Goku's foot, Sekei's fingers, the entire length of his arm, was crystallizing.

"Oh Kami no." she said, in a shaken voice

"This is bad." said Gohan "This is bad. How fast is it spreading?"

Goku pulled up his pant-leg up even further, beyond his knees, his eyes furrowed. "It's just my foot for now, but my leg is starting to feel really stiff.

Trunks and Goten gulped, the memory the stone statue of Piccolo and Krilin coming to mind.

Meanwhile Chichi and Videl worked together to remove the astronauts shirt. His chest was pure crystal, and the process was rising rapidly to his neck.

"That's it." Vegeta said icily. His face hardened as he recalled how Krilin and Piccolo had become statues. This could very well be the fate awaiting all of them. His fist tightened as he made up his mind. "I'm going out there, I'm getting the dragonball, and someone's gonna tell us how to stop this demonic curse" he said angrily, as he began to rise into the air.

"Err…Vegeta, try not to…" Goku cast serious eyes at him

"Kill anyone?" Vegeta smirked "The woman will kill me if her precious scientist here dies, I told her I'd keep my eye on him. They'll tell me how to reverse this thing, or I'll see them all in hell" he said, as he shot out the spaceship

"Son…" Goku glanced meaningfully at Gohan

"Right." he nodded in understanding. "Videl. Please stay here, I'm going with Vegeta." he let his hands linger on her shoulder for longer than was necessary.

"Gohan. I know you can take of yourself but…be careful." she gripped his forearm, her eyes brimming with worry.

"Right." said Gohan; promptly following after Vegeta

Goten and Trunks shared a look, and Goten was just in the midst of opening his mouth when… "NO!" Chichi cut him off before he could even ask "You two stay here and help me and Videl get Sekei and your father to the sick-bay." she commanded

"Don't worry about me Chi, I'll just float, just…" he eyed the boys seriously "…boys, carry him gently please. Don't break him." Goku said worriedly, the astronaut didn't look good. It didn't even look like he was breathing. The only signs of life on him were the rapid flutter of his eyelids and the panicked darting of his pupils.

"Yeah Trunks, be careful. You don't wanna break him like you broke…"

"Keep quiet Goten! Jeez, that was an accident!" Trunks cast his eyes angrily to his friend. No one was supposed to know that he had broken Piccclo, even though the green alien was fine now.

Once they reached the sick-bay, Sekei lay on the bed, his breath hitching, a small cluster of tears gathered at the corners of his eyes.

"Videl, why don't you take the boys to the kitchen for a snack?" Chichi suggested, she didn't want the boys to witness everything that was going to happen to the men.

"Sure Chichi, I'll take them" Videl said, holding on to each boy's shoulder as she steered them out the room.

"You should lie down too Goku" Chichi placed her hand on his chest, guiding him down. "You should be lying down when it…when it happens." she found that forming words was suddenly difficult. She had never had tonsillitis before, but the way her throat suddenly felt heavy and burdened, she was pretty sure that this feeling was close.

"It will be okay Chi, you'll see." Goku assured her, as his eyes lingered onto the next bed. The astronaut didn't look good. Not at all.

He allowed Chichi to guide him down onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. He couldn't even feel his foot anymore. It had been really painful while the glow was still going, but now it was just quiet, numb, dead.

"C-Ch…C-Ch…Chi-Chi…" Sekei stammered, his voice coming out in raspy intervals, like a practiced labour pant.

"M-My mom, te...ll her I love…"

"You'll get to tell her yourself. Hush" Chichi placed her finger on his mouth. Instead of sinking into soft tissue, it felt like she was touching glass. His lips felt hard and dry, completely devoid of moisture. Involuntarily she cast her eyes at where her finger was making contact and gasped, his lips still looked normal, but they definitely weren't. She removed her finger, afraid of what the rest of his face was bound to feel like.

It was only a matter of time, she realized, before his face was completely crystallized.

"The-ther…ss-s…tee"

"Don't talk, Sekei, save your strength" she touched her hand to his face soothingly, trying not to show panic at how glassy and cold he felt against her hand.

"P-P...please, Chi-Chi…the-ther…ss-s…tee"

"I think he's trying to say he's thirsty Chichi, I feel it too. His must be a hundred times worse than mine" Goku pointed out

"Hang on okay. I don't think you can drink like this. I'm gonna get a sponge and drop some cold water into your mouth, okay. I'll be right back" she touched his forehead lightly before she walked out.

"You're not married?" Goku blurted out the prevalent thought in his mind. In his last moments, he had always thought of his wife and son. He had thought of her in his very last breath when Piccolo's beam had killed him and Raditz. He had thought of her when Freeza had his foot on his head, drowning him back on Namek. He had thought of her when he was assailed by that wretched virus, and he had certainly thought of her, in his last moments on earth, knowing that his only chance to save her, to save everyone, was to blow himself up.

So the fact that Sekei had only asked after his mother, suggested that he might not have anyone else waiting on him back home.

"No. W-Was supposed t-to. W-Was engaged" he rasped.

"Engaged, Oh. That's like a promise right? To get married later?" He was pretty sure it was, but he wanted to make sure anyway.

"H-He...hhee..." Sekei tried to laugh at the question. Chichi had said that her husband was unusual in the things he was fully aware of because of his lack of early social integration. A grown man asking what an engagement was, sounded really silly.

"Y-Yes...p-pro...mi...se"

"So what happened? Did you _break_ your promise?" Goku asked in a slightly disapproving tone.

"S-She...s-she...m-ma...ried someone else..."

Goku widened his eyes. "I went away to Burgundese to s-study, c-couldn't …c-couldn't really afford to come home every vacation you know, but I used to write hhh…h-her all the time, we t-talked all the time, but…after four years, I completed my undergrad and came home."

"And she was married? After only four years?" Goku found himself scowling at the very thought.

"We had one amazing night together, and in the morning she told me, it was for old times sake, that there was s-someone else. T-That it was over between us. She said I was gone too long." he spoke as if he was addressing the ceiling, the cluster of tears in the corners of his eyes finally spilling.

Goku knew that although he couldn't feel anything on the rest of his body, his face, the only part of him yet to fully crystallize was probably in intense pain. But somehow he had the feeling that, that was not the reason he was crying.

"You loved her" was all Goku could say, the deep resentment he had felt towards the astronaut for being on the receiving end of Chichi's smiles, vanishing.

"More than anything" he blinked rapidly, losing sensation at the base of his chin as the crystallization continued.

"Why didn't you fight for her?" he asked in a strangled voice. He had been away from his wife for one year, then seven…then ten…and finally thirty-five. He didn't even know how many times four fit into thirty-five.

"I t-tried. I even gave up my p-place in the graduate p-program for a year, t-trying to…" he choked, and it had nothing to do with the crystallization "…t-trying to change her mind. In the end, she said I was h-hurting her by not leaving her alone. She said I was..." More tears spilled from his eyes "... ruining her life..." Those last words came out slow and clear, and Goku didn't know if it was a good or bad thing.

"So you gave up" Goku whispered. Four years seemed so insignificant to him. How could she give up on him after only four years? Chichi had waited for him for six years to get married. She had not only waited, she had come to find him, and then after he died, she had waited…she had waited…

"I loved her. I had to give her up. She wanted a clean break from me, so I...I...put her happiness first." He said, as he closed his eyes.

Chichi walked in with a large jug of water, and a small bowl of ice water and a sponge. She moved to Goku's bed first and set the jug next to him. "Here Goku, drink this if you're thirsty..." She said, walking towards the other bed.

She sat on the small space on the bed next to Sekei, dipped the sponge in the cold water and placed it against his mouth. He sucked greedily at the water, his teary eyes staring at her face, as she kept dipping and giving him more.

Goku had already knocked back the entire contents of his jug, he felt only slightly better. He chose to lay back with his head tilted towards them, watching as Chichi kindly and patiently saw to Sekei's needs. His leg was really stiff now, but he could still feel it, so that was a good sign. It boggled his mind that something as insignificant as four years could break an engagement. Four years didn't seem like such a long time to him, especially considering that Sekei was studying, trying to better himself, probably for her, for them, for their future. He had no reason not to believe Sekei when he said that they had talked all the time over the phone, something he had _never _done with Chichi during his absences.

He sighed, feeling sorry for the other man, just as he'd felt sorry for Yamcha. It occurred to him that soon, if he didn't do something to redeem himself in her eyes, he may just find himself on the receiving end of his own pity.

It didn't take long for the rest of Sekei's face to crystallize as well, his eyes glazed over like a beautiful gemstone, still staring at her, as he lay like a beautiful translucent rose-quartz.

Chichi covered her face with her hands and broke into a silent sob. She realized that she couldn't bare the thought of Goku ending up this way. She could hardly bare it with this new friend she had just made as it was. She pulled up a sheet and covered Sekei up, thinking ahead to the moment when she'd have to do the same with Goku.

"Chi" Goku's gentle voice did her in.

"Oh Goku!" she cried, even more when she suddenly felt his arms wrap around her. She didn't understand how she could be so torn up inside at the thought of him ending up in such a state. She had spent so many years, so much time wanting to make him suffer and pay for his crimes against his family, she should be glad that something bad was coming his way, knocking on his door, it was what he deserved, right?

But as Goku circled her in his strong arms, all she could feel was fear for him, and despair for poor Sekei. Why was everything so damn complicated? Why was her heart so damn fickle?

"Goku you shouldn't get out of bed, you should be lying down" she sobbed into his chest.

"I will, I will" was all he said as he rubbed her back soothingly, her body melting into him, like it always did. How was it possible that she felt so good in the arms of the one who had hurt her so many times, how could she want to stay forever in the embrace of the one she hated as much as she used to love? Which was a lot, considering how much she had loved him.

"You shouldn't hold me like this Goku, you shouldn't be the one to comfort me." She sniffed, but she didn't move, she held him tighter and clung on.

"That's okay, he'll be fine, you'll see, we'll all be fine, there's always a way to fix things." He soothed, grateful for this tragedy because it gave him an excuse to hold her like this.

"Not everything Goku, not everything can be fixed." She said, thinking of three decades worth of an old woman's heart and mental breakdown.

"They're back! They're back!" Goten and Trunks suddenly rushed into the sick-bay, with Goten triumphantly holding out the five-star dragonball to his parents to see.

Chichi and Goku reluctantly broke apart, with Chichi using the back of her sleeve to wipe the rest of her tears away. She didn't want to frighten her children. "Wow!" Exclaimed Goku, "that was fast!" He grinned, taking the ball and giving it a happy stare, just as Videl, Gohan and Vegeta entered after the two boys.

"How's Dr Doi doing mom?" Gohan asked, casting his eyes to the bed. "Oh" he said, when he saw the sheet they had covered him up with. A tremor ran through him, as the image of a burnt charcoal Videl flashed through his mind. They had covered up her body with a sheet just like that one, after the explosion. He had kept her covered in it, as he held her body at the Lookout, while they waited for her resurrection. The memory was still fresh, and every time he thought of it, it chilled his very soul. He swallowed, subconsciously wrapping his arm around her, pulling her close.

"Did you guys find out anything, about how to help them?" Chichi asked nervously

"What kind of a question is that? Of course we did." Vegeta huffed, indignant. Like he would return empty handed.

"Well don't just stand there, spit it out!" Chichi snapped at him. She was in no mood for his foolish antics.

"It's okay mom. It's just a spell, it will break when the eye of the great mother looks down upon the planet"

"English!"

"I think it means, when a celestial body, similar to our moon, shines down on them" Gohan explained

"Oh okay, that's alright then." Goku said relieved that it was that simple. He had been worried that it would be something like Dabura's curse, it had lifted when he died, and he really didn't want anyone dying.

"Don't be so enthusiastic Kakarot, it only means that we have to prolong our stay in this worthless waste of celestial matter for another two nights, while this 'mother' takes her time to show" was Vegeta's less than enthusiastic take

"Two days?" Goku widened his eyes "Aw man, I can't believe I'll be stuck like this for two days." He whined

"Um...dad...not quiet like this, the crystallization is spreading remember?" Gohan pointed out

"Aw man!" He sulked even more

...

"Videl, is that you?" Gohan sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes.

"I-I um...can't sleep" she stood just behind his door, which she had just shut firmly behind her.

Gohan sat up and swung his legs on the floor. "Are you having nightmares about the bus explosion again?" He asked, patting the space next to him on the mattress for her to take

"I-I...um...no. Not the explosion. I just...what if they lied?" She sat down next to him, her eyes staring at her feet.

"Who?" Gohan's tilted her face to face him. His voicy still groggy and husky.

"T-The aliens. What if...what if they lied? About the spell?" Her voice was soft and uncertain, very unlike the Videl he had come to know

"Well, it's possible I guess, but after Vegeta's demonstration, I doubt it." He assured her, though Gohan had tailed behind to ensure that no one was killed per his father's wishes, Vegeta had blown up quiet a considerable chunk of their home and used less than subtle methods to interrogate their leader. Gohan could only be grateful that Videl had not been there to witness that side of their nature.

"Oh." She said quietly "I hope so. Things are getting dangerous, and this is only the first planet. We still have to go to six more before we have all the dragonballs. Maybe I shouldn't have come." She scrunched up her face, taking some time before she said her next words "... you had to save me today, you could have been hit because of it"

"Videl." Gohan took her hand in his. "I was in no danger of getting hit. If I had been, it would have been from being sloppy and not having my senses on, not because I had to save you." he assured her "The truth is…I'm glad you came. I think...I think I never want to be parted from you again." the words came from a place inside him that was ruled by neither his heart or his head, it was ruled solely by pure instinct.

"Gohan...I like being with you too, but we can hardly be glued to the hip you know." She tried to joke, hoping to go for a smile

"I want to be." Was his rather firm response, the stammering she was accustomed to, suddenly gone.

"W-What are you saying?" There was something slightly fearful in her voice, as she swallowed.

"Honestly, I don't know...I just know that I always want to be close to you, _always_" he pulled up their joined hands and placed them both against his heart

"You're scaring me." her body tensed up

"Why?" his eyes searched hers, his eyebrows wrinkling in confusion at her words, for he could tell from her body and her ki that she truly was frightened.

"Because you brought me back from the dead at the risk of destroying our planet, at the risk of billions of lives. So when you say _always,_ I cannot help but feel scared that you mean it literally.

"Why is that scary?" His voice sounded genuinely confused, it was so low and throaty, its effects spread right to her core, making her shiver

"That's what scares me even more Gohan, the fact that you don't even see the magnitude of the situation, of your actions, of your…words" She pulled out her hand from his, a bit shaken.

"Don't you want to be with me?" He swiped his thumb across her cheek, and dipped his head close to her face. It surprised him that he felt so sure of what he wanted, his heart was beating with someone new, something that drew its courage from as deep as his marrow. He felt no nerves, no insecurities, only that the one before him was to be protected, kept safe and close, at all times.

"Always is a loaded statement Gohan, we're only eighteen." She breathed in a hitched whisper, her eyes held firm by his searching ones.

"Then we'll just take it one day at a time." He moved his face closer and tenderly pressed his mouth against hers. He held the contact for a few seconds and slowly closed his eyes. Hesitantly he pried her lips open, and held the back of her head with his hand as he kissed her. The contact made his cheeks burn and his stomach roll and clench. Videl gravitated closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, breathing into him, making a throaty sound that made him feel things he knew he should by all means try to control.

He pulled away from the kiss and cleared his throat. "...one day at a time, starting from right now. Sleep with me?" He pressed his mouth against hers again.

Videl stiffened, pulling back from his mouth. "W-Wha..." Even in the darkness he could make out the shock written all over her face.

"Oh! No!" He waved his hands frantically in the dark, whatever primal part of him that had been driving him, leaving him in a jiffy. "I-I mean n-not _sleeeep _with me, just, you know, share the same bed with me. That's what I mean, that's what I was trying to say. He heh he..."

...

Only the dim side-lamp on her side of the bed was switched on as Goku floated out of their en-suite bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. His hair was slightly flat from the water, but the rest of him was completely dry.

"I guess I'll head on to the sick-bay then." Goku said quietly, floating a few inches higher from the carpet, studying her face as she sat on their bed, thinking that her hair would be so much prettier if it was falling to her shoulders.

Trunks and Goten had kept him company after dinner, regaling him with their hilarious stories until they started rubbing their eyes, completely exhausted. Chichi had come to shoo them to bed, leaving him alone with the crystallized astronaut.

It's not that he was scared or freaked out or anything; it just felt all quiet and eerie being alone with him. Right now he couldn't but help to be reminded of that horrible place, the morgue, where he had watched Gohan all but break apart after the death of Videl. Five minutes of silence and he'd had just about enough. He had floated out of bed and into the bedroom he had been uncomfortably sharing with Chichi, using needing a hot shower as an excuse.

It was ridiculous that Chichi had put him in the sick-bay in the first place; he wasn't exactly sick! He was fine, he just couldn't feel his foot, and a small fraction of his leg. It wasn't even impeding him yet. He could still take on Kid Buu.

"Well…goodnight Chi. I guess I'll see you tomorrow." he said sadly, as he began to make his way out. He would sleep in the entertainment area, he decided.

"Goku, you're not sick. It's not like any of the supplies we have in the sick-room can help you anyway." Chichi said quietly. She was sitting up in bed, her hands clasped together over her thighs. "There's no reason to sleep in there." She said, finally, opening up the bed covers for him, to indicate that she wanted him to stay.

"Thanks Chi" he said, floating to the bed, a delicate smile appearing in the inside, but staying under control since he was afraid of what might happen if it broke away to the surface. It was a miracle that she had opened up the bed willingly for him. He slipped in, careful to keep a respectable distance between them, as he too sat up, his own fingers twiddling.

All was quiet to the human ears, but Goku could hear the wind outside, past the ki shield he had put around their ship. He could also hear Gohan and Videl whispering, even though he couldn't hear the words. And as the uncomfortable silence continued to stretch between him and his wife, he strained his ears some more, listening to the comforting snoring of Goten and Trunks in their own room, not to mention Vegeta on the satellite phone, mumbling something about suffering to Bulma who was no doubt on the other end of the line.

He could only smile at the shorter saiyan's reluctant attachment to his wife, when Chichi finally decided to break the silence.

"I spent so much time in the last ten years, wanting to punish you, wanting to hurt you for disappearing on me." Her soft words carried through in the dim lighting. "I was trapped in my own mind I guess, ignoring the vibrant life that was taking place around me - the children, the grandchildren and _their_ children." She sighed, feeling guilty for ending up as a bitter old grandma that only scared or depressed her grand-kids. "I don't know how they put up with me in the end. All I did was sit and stew, plotting all the ways I could make you suffer in the after-life."

Goku bowed his head in shame, in sadness and in guilt

"Chi…" he began to say, but Chichi wasn't even looking at him, let alone hearing him, she just kept going like he hadn't even interrupted

"If souls have colour, I'm sure mine went from shimmering gold, to green and moldy in those years." She said as she unclasped her hands and began swiping her thumb against her wrist, "Hate is a difficult thing to carry Goku. It's like a bitter pill stuck in your throat. It doesn't only restrict your breathing, but it impedes your ability to enjoy anything at all. Its bitter taste is constant, and no matter how much water you wash it down with, it just lingers, affecting everything you ever try to taste."

"Chi..."

"My deepest desire, my only aspiration was to see you suffer, the way you left me to suffer...but..." She shook her head "...seeing you earlier, with that nightmare, it really shook me. My only desire in that moment was to do something, anything to make the suffering stop. I'm so pathetic that I can't even hold on to my own hate" she let out a bitter laugh, slightly startling Goku by its hollowness and darkness.

Something hard and heavy was lodged in his throat, making it hard for him to speak. He tries to swallow, but it proves difficult, finding that all he can manage to voice out is a dry and hoarse murmur

"I don't know what to say..." It was the hardest thing in the world, for him to sit and listen to his wife of so many years, talk about her hatred for him

"Say nothing. I'm tired of hating you. I'm tired of being bitter. I'm just...really tired of living on the edge. I'm just too old to bare it all, I don't have the strength for it"

"But you're young again Chi..."

"Ha!" She laughed at the very notion. "If Porunga had really wanted me to be young again, then he should have taken my memories. All ninety years worth of aging and damaging memories." She frowned, pondering on such.

"Well, time...didn't mean as much to me as it obviously meant to you. And as it obviously means to everyone else. I guess it's one of those things that I never got to learn, living on my own and stuff, and for the pain and damage that it has caused to you and the kids and our friends too…I'm really sorry about that." He talked with his eyes cast at his own hands.

"Time is everything Goku, please make more of it for your children this time round. I'll try not to let the running of the Kingdom steal me from my grand-kids either. I'll be a better grandma. I have to be."

"I think, that after all these years, after I talked to Sekei, maybe I understand a bit better, about time I mean. I guess, it was lucky that you saw something in me, otherwise any other woman I might have married, would have left me a long time ago. I guess, I understand that a bit better now, I think." He tilted his head with his index finger scratching his scalp

"Maybe if you had married someone you chose yourself, you might not have wanted to escape them all the time. It's okay though Goku, it will hurt me when it happens, but one day if you chose to re-marry..."

"Never" he said it plainly

"Don't be so childish Goku, you just promised that you're going to be there for our sons more, that means first - actually staying alive! Then staying on earth! And lastly staying where they can see you all the time. After a while, even you...you'll get lonely, you'll need someone..."

"...I want to be there for all of you more. As a family. This trip is supposed to be for all of us Chi, to be a family. But you…you're already planning on moving on then? Like Bulma did with Vegeta, after ten years with Yamcha?"

"...I would never do it behind your back like Bulma did Goku, but if thirty-five years of growing old alone taught me anything, it's that...I don't want to grow old alone, _again_." Her voice finally broke at the memory of the painful memories.

_"Grandma! Grandma!" Pan's panicked and urgent scream shook her out of her bitter thoughts. It was her grandson's birthday, Goten's son was turning one, and the birthday party was being hosted by Videl and Gohan, right across from Chichi and Goku's house. Chichi was in her house, bringing out more platters of food, her angry thoughts directed at her absent husband, who had missed Goten's wedding, the birth of his first son, and now that son's birthday._

_"You have to stop him grandma please! He's killing him!" Pan ran into the house, with blood and tears on her face._

_"Pan wha...what's going on?" Chichi dropped the platter on the floor, rushing to her young grand-daughters aid, her heart pounding furiously._

_"Please stop papa grandma he's killing him. He's killing him!" She grabbed her grandmother's hand and dragged her out her house, past the garden chairs and the guests that had started to arrive, past her own house and further on into the forest surrounding the large expanse of Son property._

_"AH!" Chichi screeched when she saw Gohan stomp down on Trunks's face. All she saw was purple and red as Trunks's face was embedded further into the grass._

_"Son Gohan! STOP IT!" She screamed as she marched to the scene, throwing herself between her enraged son and Trunks, shocked that Goten was just standing there, not helping at all. He looked like he had been fighting too, with a split lip and a noticeable bruise on his face._

_"Get. Out. Of. The. Way. Mother." Gohan glared at her like he had never done before._

_"What's the meaning of this Gohan, have you gone mad?" Chichi screamed, waving her finger in the air, her chest rising and falling wildly like she had been huffing and puffing all day._

_"What are you still doing here Pan? Didn't I tell you to go to into the house until I've dealt with him?" Gohan ignored his mother's questions and glared darkly at his twenty-one year old daughter._

_"I won't let you kill him papa, I know you're angry with us, but I love him, I...I-I…"_

_Chichi gasped in shock as Videl, who had been watching the violence with a fury Chichi hadn't seen in her eyes in a long time, suddenly marched past her husband and smacked Pan across the cheek. "Love him? You love him? He's a married man Pan, I know we raised you better than this!" Videl fumed, she was so angry, her entire frame was shaking._

_Chichi blinked, trying to digest the news. Pan and T-Trunks?_

_"Mama please..." Pan held her cheek, the slap itself didn't hurt, she was a thousand times stronger than her mother, but...it hurt her to know that she had driven her gentle mother to strike her. Videl had never ever hit her._

"_Do you have no shame Pan Son? It's your cousin's birthday party for Kami's sake. And instead of helping Gohan Jr and the twins with the balloons, we catch you out here, with your skirts and legs in the air! Do you have NO SHAME?" Videl glared at her weeping daughter, unable to process where she had gone wrong as a mother._

_"…Goten, take her into the house please, Chichi you and I should go as well. This is between Trunks and Gohan." Videl stated with contempt._

_Chichi could only stare as she noticed for the first time that Trunks's pants were, well…literally down his ankles as he coughed and panted, trying to pull himself up._

_"I...I don't understand Pan, are you having an affair with Trunks?" It felt vile just saying the words, Pan was always such a good girl, she wouldn't do such a thing with a married man, would she?_

_"ANSWER HER PAN!" Gohan yelled, his eyes red and wide like a crazed man deprived of sleep_

_"He's getting a divorce and he...we...I love him." Pan hiccupped and sniveled, unable to meet her grandmothers eyes._

_Chichi felt as what was left of her heart break. How could Trunks do this? How could Pan allow herself to be taken in by a married man? She turned away from her granddaughter, her heart heavy with disappointment and sorrow. It suddenly felt like her head was being split open, as her sanity took a small hit. _

_In her prime she would have given her granddaughter a verbal lashing of all lashings, she would have screamed her fury and disappointment at Trunks, hell, maybe even throw in a kick in his crotch for good measure, but...all she could manage was to rub her temples and turn away from the scene, away from her granddaughter as Goten moved to take her away per Videl's instructions._

_"Let Go Of ME!" Pan screamed at her uncle when he physically began to remove her from the scene as instructed. "Uncle Goten! Let go of me. Help Him! Help Him! He's your best friend!" She cried_

_"That spoilt bastard is no friend of mine Pan. He's as good as dead to me." Goten dragged her away in a voice Chichi had never heard from her cheery son._

_"If grandpa were here, he wouldn't let you do this. Grandpa wouldn't let you DO THIS! GRANDPA!" She screamed as she disappeared on Goten's shoulder._

_But of course, her grandpa wasn't there. So Gohan continued to pound into Trunks in a blind fury, until Vegeta arrived on the scene, having had sensed his son's ki dwindling._

_She had been powerless to stop Gohan and Vegeta's brawl, she had faced the explosive after effects, all on her own. The rift in the two families, it had been a disaster, and every night she would sit outside on her porch with a shawl draped over her shoulders, praying for Dende to send her husband back home. _

_Of course, it had never happened._

"You have that faraway look in your eyes again, are you thinking about your papa's funeral?" Goku asked, making her rub her temples, as she shook her head no.

"Oh. Cause you looked really sad. Is it Yamcha?" he questioned, but Chichi shook her head no, again. "I thought it might have been Yamcha. I saw from your memories how close you guys became, I wish he had married someone after Bulma, then he wouldn't have died all alone, I feel bad about that. He kept saying that I'd come, but I guess, I never did." he said regretfully

"Yeah. Yamcha's sweet. He just didn't know what to do with a broken heart. When we get back to earth, I'll make it my personal mission to reunite him with Minie, he spoke of her, many times, in his last days."

"Then what Chi? What were you thinking about?"

"Fito's firth birthday party"

"Oh." he suddenly understood the cause of her sudden sadness. He had her memories of that day, with all its startling revelations, not to mention the violence that had followed. It had been the beginning of a dangerous rift between the two families, one which left both sides never the same again. He had her memories of everything, especially of how she would cry herself to sleep at night, wondering why he wasn't there at a time when things were falling apart. His wife had needed him, Gohan and Videl had needed him…Pan…

He felt the binds of panic as they clasped him, what could he say to make her understand that he now understood that he was needed

"...I'll be a better husband to you I swear Chichi. I won't go away and stuff, I'll be like Vegeta, I won't even let you breathe, I'll follow you around like a shadow until you're sick of seeing my face, I swear Chichi…" the words came out of his mouth so fast he hardly had time to process what he was saying, he was desperate to make her understand that he understood that a husband, a father, a friend was needed for more than just to save them from the world, sometimes you need a hero to save you from the day to day stuff as well, and he had failed in that regard

"Whatever comes, we'll face it together this time, the stuff with Pan and Trunks is still difficult for me to believe, though if I have to think about the way it was between the two of them in space, I guess I can sort of see how it might have gone there…" he shook his head to clear his thoughts as she sat watching him "…I look at Trunks now and he's still just an innocent kid. Now that we know what is bound to be in their hearts, maybe it can all end better this time round. Just...don't give up on me." he pleaded as he dared to put his hand on top of hers.

Chichi let her eyes wonder to his hand, that was the problem with Goku, he was always so damn sincere and honest, right to the very second that he'll do something stupid like sacrifice himself or take off to the unknown on the back of the dragon.

She sighed, finding that his touch was far from repulsive; in fact, it felt good to be talking to him this way. She felt sturdy and assured to have their hands touching like this.

"I wish I could understand you Goku, but even now, after seventy years of marriage, I still don't get you, not at all."

"What does that mean Chichi?"

"Goku, out of the seventy odd years we've been married, only in eighteen of them, did we spend together. Think about it, that's not even half. So I'll ask you, what on earth do you even want to be married for?"

"I-I...I don't know. I do love you and I just like being with you Chichi, you know that."

"Yes, I know, but Goku the difference between you and me, is that you're equally as happy even when you're _not _with me."

"Only because I know that you're there, and that when I finish doing whatever it is that I'm doing, you will still be there, and that no matter how far or how long I've been gone, I know I'll be with you in the end!" he said childishly, yet very truthfully.

"Oh Goku. You're such a child, what am I gonna do with you?" she placed her hand on top of the hand that was on top of hers as she sighed. He was such a child, such a dear, adorable, and frustrating child.

"You always say that when you don't want to explain something to me." Goku pouted.

"True." she turned her face at him and smiled, a real smile, unclouded by bitterness or anger or hate. "That's true, but it's late, and my arthritis is really painful. I need to get some sleep."

"You don't have arthritis anymore Chichi, you know that right?" he also smiled, a real smile, unclouded by guilt or fear of losing the one he loves.

Chichi laughed.

"I know, but I still feel it." she grinned, and Goku couldn't believe his heart. This was the first time since he'd come back that she was acting like this, well, without the influence of the red-pipe. He couldn't believe it.

"If you say so grandma." he dared to tease her.

"And yet, I'm not the one who's going to need a walking stick to walk tomorrow, _grandpa_," she pulled her hand from underneath his and grabbed her pillow and threw it at him.

"He heh heh…I guess you're right. I almost forgot about that." he scratched his head, moving his hand to feel his foot. It was still stiff, but it had not crystallized any further. When his eyes turned back to her, she had slid down under the covers, contentedly snuggling into her pillow.

"Chi…" he called out her name softly

"Mnn?" she adjusted her neck to a more comfortable position, her throat releasing a relaxed sigh.

"I saw the bruises on your wrists when you were giving Sekei water."

She didn't respond, she just stiffened.

"_Don't touch me, get your filthy hands off of me!" Chichi tried to fight him, but between the water and the soap, everything was slippery, making it impossible to succeed against him and his freakish saiyan strength. She only succeeded in slipping and falling numerous times, eventually having to hold on to him or the walls for support as the soap and the water poured down her face, going painfully into her nose, forcing her to shut her eyes to avoid the sting of the soap_

"Chi? I have no excuse for my behaviour, I don't know what got into me honestly, you know I'm not like that right?" he placed her hand on her shoulder and held his breath

"You scared me." she spoke into the pillow

"I'm sorry."

"No matter how strong you became, or how many times you accidentally hurt me in the past. I was never scared of you. Not ever, not even for a second."

"I know."

"I think…I'm a little scared of you now."

"Chichi don't say that." his voice cracked as he pressed his hand further into her shoulder.

"Sleep Goku, we can talk again tomorrow." she said, reaching out with her hand and clicking on the switch on her side-lamp, effectively turning off the dim light in the room.

It was suddenly pitch black, and quiet.

"I'm a little afraid to sleep" was his hoarse and troubled response.

"You're worried that you won't wake up? That you'll crystallize?" her voice suddenly changed to one of concern as she sat up again, abandoning her snuggly pillow, her hand reaching out for him in the dark.

"No. I'm worried that I'll remember even more about my parents, about Vegetasei and it's cruel ways, and even more on my original programming as Kakarot." he whispered

"Y-You remember all of that? Since when?" she clutched the bed covers closer to her body, her eyes straining to see his face.

"Since I kissed Shinganga." he confessed, his troubled voice bouncing against the walls of the ship.

…

_That's the chapter guys. I've tried to improve on characterization here by paying attention to the words the characters use, their mannerisms and their tones. I hope it shows…_

**Goku and Chichi Luver**: Hi GCL, thanks for the review. I know this update took me like eons to write but I hope it was enjoyable nonetheless. Haha, Chichi hasn't done anything with "Him" haha. Like she told Goku, she's too classy to do anything behind her husband's back.

**Ninjapuppies:** thank you for your review, and eep! This update is so late its shameful!

**Kiara:** I feel like you are one of the few readers that understand Chichi's anger. Most people think that if Goku says "I'm sorry" then Chichi should just take him back, and that is very unrealistic, especially after leaving her alone and old for thirty-five years. And you're right, Sekei is someone that Chichi can share a life with on the same level. Thank you for your review and your insight. I hope you continue to read and enjoy the story, even after I have not updated for so long.

**Mewmew:** haha so you think Chichi is being crazy? Haha, well that's certainly one way to look at it. I don't know how patient you are as a person, but most women would never wait for a man for seven years, never. Chichi waited for seven years, then took him back. She also waited for ten years, while he trained Buu and also took him back. And now, in this story, he left again for thirty-five years, until Chichi was old and dying and he never came back. At least Vegeta, with all his flaws was actually sticking around, and his kids always knew where to find him, if they needed him. Anyway, but this is the beauty of life isn't it? All the different ways we can look at the same situation. Thank you for reading and the feedback.

**kyraStorms:** haha yeah, a bit of the ol Kakarot making a small and subtle appearance. haha. Yeah, I think all this time I've spent writing GohanVidel fics makes it difficult for me to not include them in my stories now, lol. Glad you enjoyed that chapter.

**The gansta of love:** thank you so much for that detailed review. Everytime I read it, it makes me feel that the little things I want to get across are actually coming out. Thank you so much.

**Majincc:** O O! I don't know why Chichi fans like to see her get manhandled! Its insane! LOL! Thanks for the review

**Sparks:** haha, yeah, I honestly don't know why Vegeta likes to go on and on about being a proud Saiyan. The history they show us in the show does not make them out to be good people, not at all. I just threw in my two cents with the turning ritual to highlight that fact, lol. Thank you for the review.

**MissySullivan:** haha, yeah he did called himself that, lol. Totally ashamed of how long this chapter took to get out, but um…yeah…I feel like I'm finally back into the swing of things now.

**NekoJinPan:** Ha hah hah hah "death by extremely muscely man named Goku!" hahaha that was priceless. Thank you for the review, and she was never flirting! Just getting along. Hahah

**Eleona:** Hi and your English is great, it's also only my second language so I try to use writing as a way to improve. I feel like I've made such a bad impression because after you started to read the story, it took me sooooo long to update. Eep! I'm not usually like this though, and I wont take nearly as long from now on. Thank you for your review, it was so heartwarming! I feel like if I can make the readers feel all those emotions they described, then I am definitely doing something right. Thank you and I hope you continue to read.

**Sainivy:** I love goku too! So much! Sadly, he's not perfect either, but who is? Lol

**Autumn Dusk:** Difficult to say if you are still reading, but just in case. Thanks so much for your feedback. I have a beta now, so hopefully that will help improve the overall quality of the read. Its true that I spent a lot of time writing and editing chapter one, the others not so much as I was trying to update as soon as I could for the readers. Thanks again and I cant change everything all at once, but so far I have gone back to chapter 2 and 3 and made some changes.

**Felicia:** aw, but he's such a sweet guy, and their just friends! Lol

**Yaji's Girl:** Whoa! I honestly didn't think you were still reading this story, but so glad that I was wrong. well, the truth is, I have not seen the history of bardock…yep, haha, and I actually got the name Fasha, from a fanfic I think, that she was a comrade of Bardock or something, so when I was thinking about a name for Goku's mom, I figured what the hell, lol. I am glad that you are one of the few who realizes that Goku treating Chichi like that was totally out of character for him, but with all these memories and thoughts filling him his dreams (at that stage he would have had only one night worth of them) I wanted to show his frustration and impatience and confusion and anger and that they were having an effect on him, and that he didn't really handle the Chichi and Sekei thing well. I'm definitely not going to take the route of kakarot being a separate being inside Goku, or him having such an influential effect on him that ninety years worth of Goku's nature and personality can be wiped away by say, a year or two worth of memeories, nuh, that just seems unrealistic to me. lol. However, I also think that it will have some effect, especially while Goku is still transitioning and sorting all of that out. Anyway, let me stop rambling! Thank you for your insight, thank you so much!

**Kaka:** I don't know why everyone thinks that Sekei is stirring up trouble. Lol. He hasn't done anything…yet. Lol

**Kawaii248:** haha you crazy person! Though, those are my sentiments too. Take me now Goku! Lol

**SieraLarson:** Can't seem to resist a little Gohan and Videl romance, haha

**Missingthepoint:** thanks for all your wonderful and hilarious reviews! They were such a joy to read :-)

**Girl with the dragon tattoo:** yeah, its not a happy clappy story at all. But I did put it under angst and romance though. Glad you enjoyed that last chapter

**Hikari no Tenshi:** thank you for such a lovely review.

**Knroth:** glad you enjoyed it. thanks for the review

**SelenaAG: **thank you for your reviews. He was certainly not the best in the father and husband department.

**Gokuandchichi4eva:** well here it is, lol, I feel like I've kept you waiting forever, lol

**Collision:** thanks so much. Your review came at a time I really needed encouragement, so thank-you

**MaloraLover:** Hi there, and thank you very much for taking the time to review!

**Chibigoten25**: Hi there, thank-you, thank-you, thank-you so much for your review. I got it when I was really starting to consider abandoning this fic altogether, cause I'm such a hysterical woos, lol. So it really went a long way towards making me grow a pair and seek advice on my writing instead of wallowing in my own self pity. Thank you so much for that. I hope you enjoy this little chapter as well.

**Nukidono14**: I don't know what to say to you, honest. I wish I knew whom it was that recommended my story so I could thank them profusely as well. If you caught my authors notes at the top, you will know that I was down and out in the dumps of self doubt and pity like the weak whimpering idiot that I am for a while there, lol. I felt so thoroughly uplifted when I received your review that I began to type up some words right away. My plot notes had a different planet planned for this chapter, but your words were so beautiful that I decided to change the description of the aliens and write them graceful and shimmering with beauty because that's how I was feeling at the time. Thank you so much. It took me a while to get this chapter out, I had it looked at by two different people because I was paranoid about 'characterization'. Thank-you, I hope you enjoyed this last chapter.

**Rinkabijin:** Hi rinka, thank you so much for taking the time to read and review. Poor Chichi! So much suffering, but goku's just toooooo cute. Don't you just love him? Lol

**Gohansgirl:** YaY for Goku and Chichi YAY! I'm so happy that you gave the genre and this story a chance, haha, the truth is, even though I write more Gohan Videl fics, at heart I'm just a hopeless GxCC fan!

**FatedMoon:** Yep! I agree with you. Chichi does not have it easy with Goku as a husband, as much as I love him, he could have done soooo much better in that department, lol. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter.


	13. Chapter 13

Dont be scared by the word count 1700 of the words are just review responses at the bottom of the page.

Thank you guys for all your feedback, I really appreciate it.

Thank you to my beta **Saiyajin-Love,** for patiently going over this chapter with me.

For more of my works, saiyajin-love's and others, find us on **Team Dragon Star**. This is a collab account where we write as one big happy family.

* * *

Chapter 13

...

"A divorce as in…a permanent separation?" His eyes roamed over her face. "Is that your final decision?" he asked as his eyes changed completely, his irises deepening and darkening in shade.

"Yes," she croaked, backing away from him. The forming of the simple word, like a laceration to her throat. This is what she wanted, a new life; a clean slate to have the happiness that he never gave her.

"Then," he advanced towards her, backing her into the curved wall of the spaceship. "You're no longer of any use to me, _human_." He sneered, lifting her up to his height, by the curvature of her neck. His grip around her throat was so tight that it crushed through the bones of her larynx, suffocating her.

"Ple…ase…Go…ku," she clawed at his hand, the retinal veins in her eyes filling with blood as the pressure caused them to expand unnaturally.

"My name is Kakarot," he breathed against her ear, his warm breath sending a cold terrifying chill down her spine, "now die" he ripped out the tissue, with the fat, the muscle and the bone from her throat.

"Hee…Hee!" A sweat drenched Chichi shot up from bed, coughing violently as her hands flayed wildly before finally settling around her throat. "Oh my god, oh my god!" she panted, patting the skin around her neck to check and make sure that it was still in-tact.

"Chi?" Goku roused from his own dreams. He rubbed his eyes and turned on the side-lamp. At the sound of his voice, Chichi jumped in a start. "Monster!" she threw herself out of bed and landed on the floor with a loud thud. "Monster!" she continued to choke. She was on all fours hysterically crawling away from the bed like a wounded animal.

"Chichi, what's going on, what's wrong?" he blinked rapidly, adjusting his eyes to the dim lighting. His senses didn't pick up any other ki signatures in the room. If there was some kind of monster, he would have noticed it.

"Stay away!" she crawled on her hands and knees, "stay back!" she coughed some more, even though there was nothing wrong with her throat.

Goku's feet appeared right before her, blocking her hasty path to the bathroom. He was floating just a few inches from the ground because it was still difficult for him to put his entire weight on his feet since coming out of his crystallized state. They were still unstable, still a bit stiff and definitely still sore, like fresh bones out of a cast of many months. "Chichi, it was just a dream, just a nightmare, there's no monster in here, it's just us. I would sense it if there was." He squatted down to her level and cast sleepy worried eyes at her. "It was just a dream Chi, come…" he outstretched his hand and offered it to her.

Chichi stared up into his eyes and scrutinized his expression. His eyes were just as she'd known them. His expression was just a bit tired, weary and concerned. It was no secret that his own dreams left him in poor shape most , there were no traces of murderous intent to be found, no traces of the scary Kakarot she had obviously conjured up in her dreams.

"Oh Goku, it was just awful!" She allowed the tears at the corners of her eyes to spill as she covered her face with her hands and began to cry right where she was, on the floor, on her knees.

"Chi," Goku gathered her up, "whatever it was; it was just a nightmare." He picked her off the floor and carried her back to bed. "It'll be okay, Chi, I promise." He settled back against the bed with Chichi cradled on his chest. Softly he began to thread his fingers through her hair while she buried her face in his chest and cried. "It'll be okay." He soothed, reveling in this rare opportunity to have her so near, without her shrugging away from him in contempt.

They remained like that for a long time, long after her sobs had subsided; so long in fact, Goku was beginning to think that she had fallen asleep on him.

"I shouldn't be sitting on you like this" she spoke and shifted out of the blue. "Your poor legs are still so weak." She clamoured off of him to sit rigidly on her side of the bed.

Goku stared at his legs and his feet before he began to rotate his ankles round and round. "Yeah, I really have to do something drastic to get them back into shape." He frowned. "Guess I'm still lucky though, Sekei's whole body is as weak as my legs, poor guy."

"Well, the physiotherapy I've been doing with him is working, but he's not like you Goku, he doesn't thrive on pain and exercise, so it will take him a while to get back to normal."

"Yeah, poor guy. I want to be back in shape by the time we get to the next planet though. So we should maybe up the intensity of the therapy and then I can start to train my legs on my own."

"I don't think I can up the intensity for you any further Goku. You need someone stronger, like Gohan." Chichi pointed out. She was doing sessions of physiotherapy with both of them each day, but if she was honest with herself, she was probably just slowing Goku's progress down. With Sekei, she was helping, but for Goku…he needed someone stronger.

"I like our sessions." He protested, since their talk about the past, their marriage and his memories the night he got crystallized, things had been very civil between them. Chichi was still distant, but she wasn't hostile. When the crystallization had worn off, they had all expected everything to go back to normal. But Goku and Sekei had found that it wasn't so easy. It was like their muscles were dead, and needed to be revived by intense physiotherapy. Of course, Goku only had his legs to worry about, but Sekei was not so lucky, he had all of him to worry about. Chichi was treating both of them to sessions of physiotherapy a few times each day, in the hopes of getting the lame muscles back to their old strength.

"If you think they're helping, I don't mind." She yawned and rubbed her eyes. She was still pretty exhausted.

"Get some sleep Chi, you're still tired."

"Says you." She looked him over, taking in the bags under his eyes. "You know Goku for someone who sleeps as much as you've been sleeping since we came into space, you look rather worn out."

"Yeah, it's like once I start dreaming, I'm trapped there. I can't control the memories, they just keep coming and coming, and they make my head hurt, it's tiring." He rubbed his own eyes.

"Then you should sleep less, I know Goten would like to spend some more time with you. You should get out of this room and do something other than sleeping, join Vegeta in the gravity and train, you need it Goku."

"These memories must really bother you, if you're pushing me to train with Vegeta of all people." He chuckled.

"They're dangerous Goku! You should go back and see that Shinganga again. You should make her take them back, all of them!"

"Aw, but Chichi, she'll make me kiss her again, and I don't wanna." He pouted like a child refusing to eat his vegetables.

"Urgh! The nerve of that dead slut! Just wait till I'm dead and on the other side Goku, I'm gonna march right into hell and teach that manipulative whore a thing or two." She balled her fist angrily, "kissing a married man. Urgh! The nerve!" She fumed, her nostrils twitching in that adorable way, her eyes coming to life in the dim room, all traces of sleepiness gone.

This was it right here, this moment. This was the wife he knew, the wife he'd missed for the last thirty-five years while living and learning magic and other techniques in the realm of the dragons. She was fiery with passion, outspoken and very quick to blow a fuse.

Chichi noticed him watching her, "What?" She eyed him wearily, when all he did was grin.

He grinned some more, "nothing." He said, even as his grin continued to grow, if he didn't stop he was going to split his face.

Chichi harrumphed at his play of innocence, her face contorting comically. "Don't give me that innocent look Son Goku, I know that you're thinking something." She glared at him.

Goku chuckled, "When you make that face," he began to say.

"What face? I'm not making a face." She added quickly, making Goku laugh, as his eyes twinkled playfully. "Yeah you are, you always make faces."

"Son Goku I do-"

"This face," he scrunched up his nose and brought his eyes together. "I don't make that face!"She laughed and playfully hit him on the chest.

" Yeah you do," he grabbed the slim feminine hand still pressing against him and tucked it under his arm, "every-time you get mad and determined, you make that face." He used the hand to pull her in closer. "I missed that face," his chest seemed to expand and contract dramatically as he breathed. "I missed everything about you Chi." He spoke with his face just inches from hers, his voice soft like the eyes that held hers in imprisonment.

Chichi bit down on her lip, her own chest rising and falling. She knew he could hear the thunderous beating of her heart within it. She couldn't help it, as much as she wanted to walk away from this marriage, as much as she knew that he was no good for her, one truth still remained - Son Goku was damn sexy, and she had never been able to resist him. He was only making contact with her hand, but the damn sparks between them were already making her body warm up. No, she had never been able to resist him for long, especially not when he looked at her so invitingly, his eyes pulling her in like the pied piper's melody.

Her breath quickening, it took all of her willpower to stop herself from brushing back the fallen spike of hair away from his face and leaning in for a kiss.

"Ahem," she cleared her throat uncomfortably, pulling out her hand from where it was tucked under his arm. She exhaled and scooted away from him, creating a bit of space between them. She knew what those eyes would hold for her in the future should she give in to this moment – years of pain and loneliness.

The last thing she wanted to talk about was how much he claimed to have missed her; in fact, the last thing she wanted to talk about was the issue of them, full stop. She ran a shaky finger in small tentative strokes on the sensitive flesh of her neck, and tried to think pass the swirl of desire that was building in her stomach from being that close to him a second ago. She had made her peace with him that night of the crystallization and she had finally let her anger go. She was determined to be civil around him for the sake of the children, make friends even, but anything more than that, was not in the cards. Not ever again.

She cleared her throat again before she spoke, trying to make her voice sound nonchalant. "What about it, what were you going to say about that face?" She swiftly moved away from his previous statement.

Goku sighed in disappointment, having had watched the play of emotions on her face, but he chose to let the matter go. "Just that, with your hair all short and wild like that from tossing and turning in your sleep, it kinda looks spiky and I don't know," his eyes roamed over her entire body, taking in the press of her nipples against her white nightie and the curvature of her hips where they came out from her narrow waist, pressing against the flimsy body hugging fabric. His eyes travelled down further to her shapely legs, all the way down to her bare feet, before he spoke out again. "With blue armour and a tail, you'd look just like Nesha," he said wistfully.

Chichi shifted slightly under his gaze, "Nesha? Who's that?"

"She was my mother's sister, a second class warrior. I vaguely remember her. She used to argue with my dad a lot when she came to see my mom; she used to say that he brought the family station down, because he was third-class. I can't really say I understood the bi...what?" He suddenly stopped what he was saying and asked, when he saw the disapproving expression on her face.

"I know they're your family Goku, and it must be nice to finally remember something about them after all these years, but...I'm nothing like them, those..._saiyans._" She frowned, remembering that the saiyans didn't exactly leave the best track record in the universe.

"I was just making a comparison based on the observations from my memories, that's all. I didn't mean to imply anything by it."

Her eyes suddenly widened dramatically at his statement, "You see!" She jumped out of the bed, her little nightie riding up her thighs as she stood pointing an accusing finger at him. "Goku would never say something like that. _Observations and Comparisons,_" she repeated some of his words haughtily, "Even your speech is changing Goku, don't you see?" She accused heatedly.

"I'm still me Chi, nothing is gonna change that."

"That's because you don't notice the subtle difference, but I have. You're changing, and I'm not so sure it's for the better."

"I feel just fine Chichi, there's no change," he insisted. She was really working herself up for nothing this time.

"The way you phrase things sometimes, it's different, more grown-up, like just now."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"I wasn't aware of that."

"You see what I mean. 'I wasn't aware of that', you would never have said something like that before." she sighed.

Goku stared at her for a few minutes and thought about what he'd said; he creased his brow and frowned. "Maybe, I don't know. I did have a full language course in the space pod as part of my en-flight programming. The programe drilled me in both the common universal and saiga languages. I guess, my brain is blending all that knowledge with my usual way of talking right now, you know, with the memories so fresh and all."

"That's what I'm afraid of Goku, don't you see? This blending of the new and the old, where will it lead?" Her voice sounded so distressed, he just wanted to grab her and cuddle her.

"Did your dream have something to do with my memories Chi?" It suddenly dawned on him.

"Maybe," she said softly, her voice barely audible as she fiddled with her fingers, unable to look at him.

"Tell me."

"It's not important Goku; it was just a silly dream, nothing important at all." Her body visibly shivered when she remembered the murderous look he'd had in his eyes.

"Tell me," he insisted, it couldn't have been clearer to him now, even without the physical signs of distress, he could read it in her ki.

It was impossible to stop the vivid visions from her dream from entering her mind, "You ripped out my throat okay? Satisfied?" she blurted with a hurried, accusatory tone.

Goku couldn't describe what he felt at that moment. He had felt it at the beach on Master Roshi's island when he couldn't get up from just one strike from Raditz. The disbelief, the pain and the helplessness in the face of his wailing son. He, who had always been the strongest, always been the envy of all those he encountered in battle, had never felt more weak, had never had so much to lose as he'd had in that moment, and yet...he'd still been unable to do anything. Looking at his wife now, what he felt in the face of her confession could very well be compared to his emotions of that day, the day that had changed him and his life forever.

"I shouldn't have told you." He whispered hoarsely, "I shouldn't have told you about these memories."

"No, I'm glad you did." Chichi disagreed. "I didn't tell you, but I've already discussed it with Gohan." She met his eyes. "This way, should anything happen, we'll be prepared."

"It hurts to hear you say that Chichi. Nothing's gonna happen." He spoke in a wounded tone. "They're just memories of a two year old kid, nothing more." His eyes drooped in sadness as he focused his attention to his legs. They were doing that tingling thing again, and it really bothered him.

…

It had been a few days since they'd left the amethyst planet, which means it had only been a few days since Goku and Sekei had come out of their crystallization. Chichi was just preparing breakfast when the computer announced that they were breaking through the next planet's atmosphere.

Gohan was running the ship solo since the captain was still in his room, still unable to move despite his therapy with Chichi, and definitely unwilling to speak. The young teen was able to land the ship impressively well, considering that all he had was book knowledge and no real practice of controlling the vessel. It was a good thing that the spaceship's automated systems did most of the work anyway.

"Okay guys, we're here. Let's grab the dragon radar and get going." Gohan announced to the crew.

"Alright! Alright!" Trunks and Goten cheered.

"Err…dad, you should probably stay behind." He suggested, when he saw that curious glint in his father's eyes.

"Aw, but Gohan, I wanna see the planet too. There could be new things to eat out there."

"Dad, you can barely use your legs, really, you should stay behind for this one." Gohan insisted.

"But I can still fly! I don't need my legs; I can still fly and fight if I had to." He whined.

Vegeta chuckled darkly at Goku's comment, "Oh, I'd like to see you try Kakarot." He smirked, "Let the brats retrieve the damn dragonballs. How about we tango in the gravity room to test that theory?" he challenged.

"You're on Vegeta," Goku grinned, rotating the muscles in his neck. This would be a great test of strength and technique for him. Fighting without the use of his legs, oh, he couldn't wait!

"Right then, mom, since Dr. Doi is staying as well, maybe you should stay behind and make sure that Dad and Vegeta don't blow up the ship?" Gohan suggested.

"Fine, fine. You guys go ahead; I'll see the next planet." Chichi waved them off. She trusted Gohan to take care of the little ones and if anything were to happen, all he had to do was raise his ki and his father and Vegeta would come in a jiffy. "Just take Sekei's camera with you and make some recordings will you? Maybe the footage will cheer him up."

"No problem mom, right, you guys ready?" Gohan glanced at the two excited kids. "You bet!" they exclaimed. "Right, we'll get going then, ready Videl?" he grabbed her hand. "Ready." She smiled, and the group of four left the ship to seek the second dragonball.

...

A few days later, with two dragonballs secured, the earth crew was en-route to their third destination. The kids had retrieved the second dragonball without any incident, which was rather disappointing for Trunks and Goten. They saw no action at all on that planet, but Chichi was relieved that things had gone as smoothly as they had. If only she could say the same about Goku and Vegeta's little spar. The two of them were worse than children when it came to fighting.

_"Don't take it so hard Kakarot,"_ Vegeta had grinned after their spar. _"There's always next time!"_

Chichi stepped out of Sekei's room and closed the door firmly behind her with a heavy sigh. He was still not talking, and she didn't know how to help him.

She took a few steps away from his door and stared at the entrance to her and Goku's bedroom. _Kakarot_. She shook her head, trying to forget the nightmare she'd had a few days back. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and tried to ignore the pins and needles stabbing her in her stomach.

"How did it go?" Goku spoke up from the dark room. He was sitting up in bed, flexing his feet, testing their mobility.

"I think the physiotherapy is working, he was able to stand on his own for a bit today with minimum support. His hands can grab things as well. I give it three or four more days and he should be back to normal." She elaborated on the astronaut's progress.

"Is he talking yet?" Goku spoke with his eyes fixed on his feet as he continued to twirl them round and round.

"Just the yes, no, okay." Chichi sighed. "I don't know how to get him to open up, it's like this thing has changed him somehow. He doesn't even smile anymore."

"You miss him." Goku stated it as a fact more than a question, as he bent down to touch his feet and began to rub his palms up and down his calves.

"He's my friend Goku, I hate seeing him so disturbed and yes, I guess, I miss his company." She advanced towards the bed, "Are they still tingling?" She cast her eyes to his legs. He was just in a pair of boxers and a white vest, his typical attire since the day of the crystallization.

"Yea, it's really weird." He frowned at them.

"Let me," she crawled into bed and sat on the opposite end with her legs stretched out. She pulled his feet up to her lap, "I'll just use this aloe vera lotion I have and see. It seems to calm Sekei's tingling down."

"You've been taking good care of him." He said almost sourly

"He needed help and I have a lifetime of experience when it comes to this kind of thing, stiff joints, sore and sprained muscles," she applied a generous amount in her palms and began to apply it to his legs in long and deep strokes. "Between you, the kids, the grand-kids, and even the great grand-kids; someone was always hurt." She applied more pressure as her strokes worked themselves up all the way to his knees and back down his calves.

"I guess," Goku admitted and rubbed his eyes sleepily. He didn't care how much Sekei needed the therapy; he still didn't like having Chichi fuss over him so much, her hands almost always on him.

He just didn't like it.

…

"Entering planetary atmosphere," a computerized voice announced.

"Finally!" Trunks jumped up from his place on the floor where he had been lying back with his head on a cushion playing a game. "Wake up Goten" he clobbered his snoring friend on the head, "We're about to enter a new planet. Come on! Let's strap ourselves IN!" He yelled excitedly, practically dragging poor Goten with his bum skidding on the floor.

It had been a month since their last planet and the whole crew, minus Sekei, who was still hibernating, was eager to get out and get some fresh air. Goku had full control of his legs now, and the proof was the sour scowl on Vegeta's face following their last spar. Their time in space was a week short of three months and they only had two dragonballs.

"Okay, everyone, this might be bumpy. Let's all strap ourselves in," Gohan calmly announced as he began to punch and click on various controls. "...that can't be right..." He mumbled, flicking on a few switches here and there as the ship suddenly jerked then propelled forward.

"...ah...hell...this is not good you guys..." He spoke whilst studying one particular monitor before him intently. "I've lost control of the ship...something's pulling us in..." He said, concerned.

"I thought you said you could fly this piece of junk?" Vegeta yelled. He was in no mood for a crash landing.

"I can fly this ship just fine Vegeta. It's an external force, it's literally pulling us in," he hit a few green buttons hard with his open palm, but nothing happened.

"Great. Just Great." Vegeta muttered.

"What does that mean?" Videl asked from her seat, the last thing she felt like was crashing. She had already done that in the bus on Earth, and it had cost her her skin and her life.

"That we're actually on a planet that knows the definition of technology, unlike that hole with those glowing pests" Vegeta said with a trace of contempt directed towards the planet that had sneaked a crystallizing attack on them. "Most planets in the Cold Empire had some kind of radar, a sensor that will alert them of any foreign objects approaching their planets. They've probably been watching our approach for a while now." He explained, turning up his chin. "BRATS!" He suddenly shouted harshly, turning to Goten and Trunks "Expect anything. If I have to rescue either of you today, expect consequences, understand?" He stared them down.

"Yes, father." Trunks replied as he casted his eyes down in shame for his part in his and Goten's non-performance on the first planet.

"Aha! Oh boy! Oh boy!" Goten exclaimed excitedly, completely oblivious to the not so subtle threat.

There were no dramatics with the landing; however, whatever mechanism it was that was pulling them in, did it slowly and gently until the ship was safely on the ground. The earthling crew heaved a sigh of relief and promptly ejected their seat-beats.

"I think it'd be best if you guys stayed in the ship till we know for sure what we're dealing with here." Goku spoke with that seriousness that was only reserved for battle. "Coming Vegeta?" he asked as his eyes went over to the shorter Saiyan.

"No," was Vegeta's curt reply. "Use your brain Kakarot," Vegeta began as he saw the look of shock on Goku and everyone else's faces. "This planet was probably one that was used by the Cold Empire as a re-fueling port, and don't think for a second that it was willingly." He sat back down on his chair and folded his arms, his face betraying none of the conflicting feelings churning inside him. "If one of the natives sees my face, if they recognize me…well…there goes your chance for a peaceful resolution." he said as he met Goku's eyes full on.

Goku scratched the top of his head with his nose scrunched up in thought. "Um…I don't see how that…OH!" he suddenly exclaimed as Vegeta's words finally penetrated through to him. "OH!" he said again, nodding his head in understanding. "Yeah, the last thing we want is to start a panic. Right then," his face turned from the prince towards the door. "I guess I'll go alone," he said as he began to make his way.

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Take the brat with you Kakarot." he spoke with his eyes directed at Gohan, "at least _he_ has some semblance of sense."

Goku frowned at the insult but chose not to dwell on it. Purposefully he straightened up his posture, his senses already counting the numerous ki signatures he could feel surrounding the ship.

"Coming son?" he looked to his oldest.

"Coming dad," Gohan nodded and reluctantly let go of Videl's hand.

It was some kind of giant military hangar. Their ship had been pulled in through the opening of the large dome shaped roof, and by the time the father and son duo stepped out, the roof of the dome was already inches away from sealing shut, locking them and the ship inside.

They were completely surrounded by an army of the planet's natives pointing odd looking weapons at them. Goku noticed that they were covered up fully in brown flowing robes from top to toe, making it impossible for him to make out anyone's shape or facial features.

"You dare to trespass on our planet and insult us with your inappropriate state of undress?" a voice spoke out contemptuously.

Goku and Gohan were not sure who the voice belonged to since everyone was completely covered up. The veil-like head gear they were wearing had a slit of netted fabric across their eyes. Goku casted his eyes at his son, and then back at his own clothing and wondered what they meant by 'state of undress'. They were both in their full gis.

"We…err…" Gohan stumbled to find the right words, but as soon as he opened his mouth, a loud disgusted gasp erupted from the army, and father and son soon found themselves pinned against the structure of their ship by the army and their weapons.

"Whoa! Everyone just calm down, we come in peace," Goku declared with his hands raised in the air in a peaceful gesture. He was really hoping to avoid any possible misunderstanding.

"We will not stand to be insulted this way, no matter the vulgarity of the practices of your own planet. Now, cover up before you speak." The same voice spat, as two pieces of cloth matching the head gear of the natives were tossed in their direction.

Goku caught the flimsy fabric and stared at it, puzzled. "I think we should put them on dad, it must be inappropriate to show ones face here." Gohan whispered to his father when he saw the way he was eyeing and fingering the contraption.

"Err…sure son." Goku slipped on the head garment, as did Gohan. The nuzzles of the weapons that were pressing against them pulled back, as the army stepped back from them, allowing them room to breathe. They seemed to be much calmer, now that they couldn't see their faces.

"Now, which one of you is the captain?" the same voice questioned them.

"Oh, you mean Sekei? He's in the ship." Goku volunteered cheerfully, poking his finger through the net of the head cloth. He was surprised at how well he could see through such a tiny slit. And hey, this thing wasn't even hot like he'd thought. He could make lots of funny faces inside here and no-one would know!

"I am first commander Ghezord of the interplanetary army and these are my men. Now who are you and what are you doing on our planet?" the first commander questioned.

"My name is Son Gohan and this is my father Goku. We are from planet Earth in the north quadrant. We have ventured all the way out here on an urgent quest to retrieve something lost to our planet."

"Earth? Never heard of it. What makes you think that your lost item is here on Qerux?" first commander Ghezord questioned. "I hope you are not trying to suggest that our people stole from yours."

"No. It was definitely not stolen. We are able to track it on our radar. It's definitely on the planet. Please, we come in peace, we just wish to retrieve it and be on our way." Explained Gohan

"I see. This _item_, must be really important, if you've travelled all the way out here to find it. Very well, we will permit you entrance to search for it. We will not have you going back to your planet saying that Qeruxians were unreasonable and hostile," The first commander spoke diplomatically. "But first, all aliens wishing to enter into main Qeruxia must pass our security measures."

"Aw man, I hope this is not one of those written tests like the one Chichi made me study for before I could get my license, because that was hard." Goku complained.

"I am not sure who this Chichi is, but no. We do not wish to test your intellect, only the physical threat you pose to our planet." The first commander eyed the alien wearily. He didn't seem to be serious at all.

"We are no threat, we simply wish to retrieve our dragonball and be on our way," Gohan assured them.

"We shall see." The first commander dismissed their claims as he took a few steps towards the duo, "now, let's get started shall we?"

"Err…sure, whatever you need to do." Gohan said uncertainly. He wondered what kind of questions or documents they would be asked to answer or show. They didn't really have anything, Earth didn't trade or deal with other planets, so if there was some kind of passport type thing that they needed, they were pretty screwed. "We're ready," he prepared himself.

"Drop your pants." Was the first order.

It took Gohan a second to digest the command. "Wha...?" His eyes bulged out under his veil.

"Drop your pants. No aliens are allowed to venture past this secure area without dropping their pants. It's just a precaution." The first commander spoke under from underneath his veil. Gohan and Goku stared at him, but it was still difficult to tell if he was serious or just joking, without seeing his face. He didn't sound like he was joking though.

"How is dropping our pants a precautionary measure?" Gohan yelled indignantly, how inappropriate can this commander be?

"Because despite your claims to be from a planet called Earth, you look suspiciously like a race of planet pirates that stormed our world and sold off our women as pleasure slaves. Your physical likeness to those monsters is striking. Now, drop your pants, and prove that you're not Saiyans, so we can clear you." his voice was stern and daring.

"But we _are_-"

"Dad! Let me do the talking please?" Gohan shook his head as he glared at his father in disbelief, "What he's trying to say is that we _are_ highly embarrassed by your request. It is not considered polite etiquette on our planet to undress in the company of strangers."

"Oh really now?" the first commander quirked his brow underneath his veil, "yet you two walked out of your ship with your faces in plain sight. What kind of fool do you take me for?" traces of anger began to show from the intonation of his voice.

"Yes our faces, not our…err…" he cast his eyes down his pants, reddening in embarrassment, extremely grateful that no one could see it.

"Drop your pants, show us your backsides, unless…you really are saiyan survivors hiding their filthy tails around your waists. I warn you now, if you came here looking to purge and sell our home, you will find that our technology has come a long way since the days of Frieza." He spoke with a quiet and threatening tone. He had walked up so close to Gohan's face now, their veils were practically touching.

"Fine." Gohan spoke through clenched teeth. Sometimes he really hated his heritage. It was a good thing that none of them had their tails anymore. "Since this is not our home world, and since this is purely a security matter, we shall comply."

"I don't know Gohan," Goku scratched his head through his head gear, "Chichi said to never ever-"

"Just drop your damn pants!" the first commander snapped impatiently.

"Okay, okay!" Goku yelped, following Gohan's lead as he unfastened his sash and allowed his gi pants to drop to the floor. "But if Chichi yells at me for taking my clothes off in public-"

"Wait a minute." The first commander pointed, outraged at the sight. "You have more pants underneath your pants. What trick is this?" he yelled, outraged at the sight.

"Trick?" they both blinked in confusion.

"Yes. TRICK!" he could barely contain his outrage now, these aliens were clearly trying to pull the wool from underneath him.

"This is not a trick, this is our underwear. Don't beings from this world wear underwear?" Gohan asked, shocked that his underwear could be mistaken for some sort of trick.

"What is the purpose of this 'underwear?'" the first commander took a step towards them again. They couldn't see his face, but something told them that it wouldn't be amused.

"You're kidding me right? It's to protect and conceal our private parts." Gohan said, highly exasperated by this conversation.

"I see. So, like the Saiyans and many other species from Frieza's rule, you are Hulids, and have your genatilia...there..." he pointed at their respective crotches; his face contorting in disgust at the prospect. Their own species reproduced differently, the males and females could be distinguished by the insides of their mouths. The males had longer tongues with an opening at their tips expelled eggs. The females had normal sized tongues, but they also had masoba (holes) in their palates made out of soft tissue. The purpose of the masoba was to close around the egg, house it while slowly releasing fluid that would be injected into the egg to complete their genetic make-up. Once complete, the egg would grow until maturity.

"Of course we have our private parts there!" Gohan yelled, exasperated by such a nonsensical question. "Where else would they be. And frankly, this conversation is getting highly inappropriate!" he flushed under his veil, "And we are not Hulids or whatever you called us, we are human!" he burst out.

The first commander didn't seem moved at all by his outburst. "Slvorr, examine the aliens please. Make sure they're not hiding any tails around their waists, conveniently concealed by this _underwear._" He waved his hand to one of his men."

"Yes sir." The one called Slovrr moved forward, slipping his weapon in the holster around his waist as he approached the subjects.

"Careful not to touch their privates either," the first commander warned, slightly flushing under his veil.

Gohan couldn't believe the nerve of these people! "He is _not_ touching me!" He declared vehemently, as he gripped the black elastic hem of his boxers. He pulled down on them slightly with his back turned to this examiner and the first commander. "Look, no tail, no tail. Satisfied?" He pulled his hem back up pulled up his pants. He couldn't believe this!

Goku was a lot more relaxed about the whole thing; he didn't really care either way. It was just men anyway, so what? He was more concerned that Chichi would find out that he had taken his pants off in public, and then he'd get it for sure. "Yeah, look, I don't have one either," Goku simply dropped his boxers, eliciting a horrified gasp from the surrounding army. Gohan could only smack himself across the forehead and shake his head at his father's antics.

"ENOUGH!" The first commander turned away from the sight of the naked man with his underwear wrapped around his ankles. He couldn't stomach the obscene sight of Hulidian's private parts. They were external and unsightly and he could have gone about happily for the rest of his life to have never seen them. Never had he been more grateful that his own species didn't have such awkward protruding and dangling parts. "You may get dressed." He said embarrassed. "You may tell your captain that your crew has passed our clearance."

"Alright!" Goku cheered as he pulled up his boxers and pants. This was the easiest test EVER!

"We will assign you a visitor's guide. He will escort you and assist you in your quest. He will keep you out of trouble and ensure that you don't draw any attention to yourselves by breaking our laws. If you have any female Hulidians aboard your ship, not only must they conceal their hair and faces, but their shape as well. They will be provided with suitable clothing as I imagine they do not posses their own. Your ship will remain here until you have retrieved your lost item, and then you will leave. Good-day," the first commander spoke his last words and left the hanger with most of the men.

...

"Aw man, this thing is soo slow." Goten whined. Their guide had secured a spacious air vehicle for them to use, until they were out of the so called 'no-self-flying' zone. "I don't understand why we can't just fly," he pouted, as he glanced out the window, examining the sights down below.

"It's forbidden to self-fly in the metropolis, too many air-vehicles. You could crash or get crashed into, but once we get to the aquatonous region, you may self-fly," their guide explained.

"How long?" Gohan asked, glancing at the beeping of the dragon radar.

"Half a day."

"HALF A DAY!" Goku slumped back into his cushy seat and pouted. Half a day? But it was so boring in the air vehicle. There was nothing to do but stare outside, and frankly there wasn't much to see.

"It goes quickly. Would you like me to engage the sleeping gas?" the guide offered.

"No, you may not drug my children?" Chichi warned off the guide.

"As you wish." The guide said neutrally and pulled out a roll of paper and began to read.

"I think I'm gonna go ahead and take a nap." Videl announced as she pressed a button on her chair. It reclined three quarters of the way, creating a semi-comfortable bed. "Wake me up when we get there." She closed her eyes, her hands resting in a crossed position over her thighs.

"Scrabble?" Gohan pulled out a small metallic container of capsules belonging to Sekei. He figured he might as well use them, since the astronaut was hell bent on hibernating in his room. He was even considering a satellite video conference with a psychologist for him. He'd have to call up Bulma and explain the situation.

"Sure," Chichi smiled, leaning in. It felt like a long time since she'd played scrabble with her oldest.

"Mom, do you have my colouring book?" Goten asked sheepishly, avoiding Trunks's shocked glare at his request.

"Sure sweetie, here you go," Chichi said as she tossed a capsule at her youngest.

"Goten! Are you freaking kidding me? A colouring book? You're not four years OLD!" Trunks scolded his friend. "Coloring is for weaklings," he stressed his point.

"Aw, come on Trunks, that's not true. I like to colour too." Goku ruffled his son's hair. "What do you say Goten, can I colour with you?"

"You mean it?" Goten perked up.

"Sure I do!" Goku beamed and the two look-alikes sat on the floor of the air-vehicle with a spread of drawings and crayons before them.

…

The aquatonous region finally came into view. Goku, Trunks and Goten had fallen asleep on the floor, their drawings still spread out before them. Trunks had decided to join in the colouring after all. Videl had napped and woken up, while Gohan and Chichi were on their second game of scrabble.

"We're here." the guide announced.

"Oh joy," Videl remarked sarcastically. Frankly, she was already sick of all the fabric draped around her. She didn't like it, not one bit.

"Cheesecake!" Gohan yelled with a grin, and all three saiyans sleeping on the floor promptly opened their eyes. "Where?" Their eager eyes glanced around hopefully, and Gohan just chuckled.

"We're here you guys. We can fly now," Gohan said.

"Let's fly, let's fly!" Goten jumped up and down. He had been cooped up in spaceship for weeks, only to be cooped up in this air-car for half a day. He was more than ready.

"I'll just instruct the driver to land down below and then we'll-"

"Wohoo!" Trunks launched himself out the open door.

"Nimbus!" Goten followed after him, screaming the name of his trusted cloud just for fun.

"Let's go Chi!" Goku had already grabbed his wife, circling himself around her as he made gleeful twists in the air.

"One, Two, Three….JUMP!" Gohan and Videl held hands and launched themselves together, giggling like crazy as they soared through the air.

The air guide couldn't believe it. They flew so fast, he could barely make them out. He could fly just like most adults on planet, but nowhere near as fast as these Hulidians. He thought of going after them to warn them about proper etiquette but they were long gone. Just specs remained in the far distance.

He slumped in his chair and sighed. The first commander wasn't going to like this, especially since they hadn't agreed on a rendezvous point. What if he had lost the aliens?

…

The earthling 'tourists' made their way across the vast expanse of water following the beep of the dragon radar.

"There's no one out here now. You think we can ditch these clothes?" Videl complained. It was so hard flying with that thing on her face. The fabric kept pressing up against her and shifting the netted eye slit, she could hardly see where she was going.

"Better not Videl. We don't know who we might encounter out here," the stickler that was Son Gohan cautioned.

"I don't care. I'm taking this damn thing off!" Videl pulled off her veil and wrapped it around her arm. She would put it back on when they met up with their guide again, just for appearances.

"Videl, I don't think that's such a go-"

"The veil stays off Gohan," she snapped at him, and the lovable Son boy knew not to push her further.

Goku chuckled at the scene. "You alright there Chi?" he peered down at the bundle in his arms. Were it up to him, they would fly much slower, just so he could prolong the length of time that he got to hold her.

"I'm good." She smiled, even though he couldn't see it, he could hear it in her voice.

"We should land somewhere around here you guys, the dragonball is not far," Gohan announced as he prepared his descent, with Videl following behind.

The vegetation was plentiful and weird. Chichi was reminded of balls of cotton wool as they meandered around the fluffy and powdery plants. It was weird to walk through a white forest with no greenery or colour. It was either white or for a bit of variation, some plants were as transparent and as clear as the water.

"This stuff rubs off on everything." Goten complained. Their brown robes were covered in white fluff as they pressed on. They were beginning to look like they had dipped themselves in white flour.

"It doesn't smell so good either. I hope it's not poisonous," Trunks complained without even realizing that Videl was already scratching at her bare cheeks.

"Look you guys, up ahead!" Goku pointed towards the first non fluffy structure in the vicinity. It was also the first non white one as well. "What do you think it is?"

"I don't know dad, a house maybe. Either way, that's where the signal is coming from, so let's get going," Gohan replied.

They tracked the rest of the way to the brown, dirty looking structure. They couldn't imagine it being a house, not when all the structures in the no-self-flying zone had been so crystal, clean and pristine.

"The dragonball is definitely in here." Gohan announced as they assembled outside what they could only imagine as the door.

"Damn it!" Videl scratched furiously at her cheeks. They were dusted with the white powdery substance from the plants and for some reason she couldn't stop scratching.

"HELLO!" Goku poked his head in the small hole. They would have just gone in, but they sensed a ki in there. It looked like it was someone's house. "ANYBODY HOME?"

"Go away please, this mok is occupied, go somewhere else," came the feminine response from the walls within.

"Err…can we come in please, we're not from around here, and we're looking for something," Gohan gently said as he tried his luck.

"No one comes out here except for lawmen brining out a disgraced. What's the matter, are all the other moks occupied? I'm not sharing mine, I know my rights, now GO AWAY!" the voice called back

"Um…I'm not sure what you're talking about, I'm no lawman. My name is Son Gohan and I'm here with my family. We're looking for an orange ball with black stars, have you seen it?"

"Finders keepers!" the voice shouted back.

"That's it Gohan, let's kick this girl's ass and take the dragonball, she obviously has it." Trunks piped in.

"Trunks Briefs, shut your mouth now!" Chichi warned him as she cut her eyes at him.

"You guys, my face, my face!" Videl wailed. She couldn't stop scratching. The shouted match ceased for a second as everyone was too shocked to speak at the state of her face. It was red and swollen, breaking out into angry spots.

"Videl, your face!" Gohan exclaimed in horror "What's happening Videl?"

"I don't know, I don't know. It burns it itches, I can't stop scratching, Gohan do something!" she clawed at her skin.

"Hey, you in there, open up now." Chichi banged on the door. "Our friend is having some kind of allergic reaction out here." She suddenly lost the patient and happy attitude. Videl looked bad, and somehow she had the feeling that all that white powdery stuff had something to do with it.

The door suddenly flung open and the emerging figure cloaked in brown gasped, "I knew it. You're lawmen bringing a disgraced. How can you be so cruel?" she yelled angrily at them. "Making the poor girl walk around exposed in the poisoned forest! You're monsters, all of you." She screamed angrily at them as she pushed past them and grabbed Videl's arm. "Come inside, I have some cream for your reaction, but I'm sorry you can't live here," she explained as she dragged Videl inside her decrepit little mok. "You poor thing, to be disgraced and dragged out here exposed like this, here." She applied some form of gel on Videl's face. "This will help, you poor thing."

"Oh, oh, sweet kami, oh, that feels so much better, that feels so good," Videl happily sighed. Shecouldn't help herself; the gel was such a relief, such a relief. The alien girl applied another layer of gel on Videl's face even though her cheeks were staining in embarrassment each time Videl spoke. "There now, that should hold you for a while." She closed the tube and stepped away from her, only to gasp when she saw that the rest of them had followed them inside. "What are you all doing inside my mok. Get out! Get out!" She tried to push out the intruders. "You can leave the disgraced here. I'll take care of her. OUT" she pushed hard against the brick wall called Son Gohan since he was the closest, but unfortunately he didnt budge.

"What is this disgraced that you keep talking about? And Videl is not staying here." Chichi raised her voice. "Now, hand over the dragonball missy, or they're be hell to pay!" she threatened.

"Easy Chi," Goku grabbed her shoulders and held her back. "Sorry about all this, but could we please have the Dragonball? If we don't retrieve it, our planet will be destroyed." He went for the blunt approach.

"Planet?" The girl exclaimed. "Are you trying to say that you're aliens?" her voice rose just a notch.

"See for yourself," Gohan removed his veil, and the girl screamed, covering her eyes. "Pervet! Pervert!" she continued to screamed, turning away from him.

"Ha?" he blinked, confused. "What did I do?"

"How could you wave your tongue at me like that?" she shrieked, horrified. "I'm not that kind of girl! I'm not! Cover yourself please!" she backed away from him.

"I don't understand," Gohan mumbled, as he put his veil back on his face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you but I don't understand."

The girl took a few minuted to calm herself down. It was unseemly to have someone just unveil themselves in front of you like that. She took a few deep breaths and removed her hands from her face, braving turning around. "Are you really aliens?" she spoke with her hands still close to the netted slit of her veil, just in case the alien pervet tried something.

"Yes. We are. Can you explain why it's so offensive to see people's faces on your planet? My son is not a pervet" Chichi softly asked, taking a more gentle approach with the girl. Her distress had seemed pretty real.

"Um, I guess I could, but can the men wait outside please. They shouldn't be in here in the first place." Her voice sounded almost shy.

"Aw man, but we wanna stay too!" Goten declared, "Aw, don't make us wait outside Chi, we wanna know, we wanna know." Goku joined his youngest in the protest. He really wanted to know though.

"I think she better explain to everyone mom," Gohan threw in his two cents as well.

Chichi gritted her teeth at thier childish stubborness. Was she the only one that realized how embarrassed and distressed the poor girl was. Sometimes men were just...urg! She lost her patience in an instant. "You four, OUT!" She ordered as she began to push them out. "But Videl-" Gohan started to protest, he was very worried about her, even though her skin was already showing signs of improvement.

"OUT! OUT! OUT!" Chichi yelled, shoving them out the door so she could get to the bottom of this mess. "OUT, OUT, OUT!" She kicked the backside of the last person and shut the little door behind her.

"Oh man, your mom can be scary sometimes Goten," Trunks remarked. "Yeah, she can." Goten agreed.

"Remind you of anyone dad?" Gohan chuckled, making a pat on his fathers back.

"How can I forget? That guy went completely nuts that day!" Goku laughed in memory.

"What guy?" Goten looked confused.

"This Dr. Hulu guy from a long time ago. You weren't born yet squirt," Gohan explained.

"That was a good day, wasn't it son?" Goku thought fondly.

"One of the best dad. One of the best." Gohan agreed, smiling and nodding his head.

"Please tell us the story! Please tell us the story!" Goten begged.

"Heh heh heh, well Goten, it was a long time ago, before you were born…" Goku said as he began to relay the tale.

_"GOKU!" Chichi shrieked "What happened to my son?" She moved fast, and before Gohan knew what hit him, his mom was cradling him in his arms like a baby._

_"I'm fine mom" he mumbled, shrugging his way out of her arms, his cheeks burning out of embarrassment._

_"The last time I checked young man, fine, did not describe a broken nose! Did you do this Goku?" She advanced towards her husband, who was already gulping nervously_

_"No mom, it was Piccolo, he was in top form today, and I was...kinda...distracted" he shrugged_

_"Listen here Son Goku, I said Gohan could train to fight the Androids, I didn't sign a permission slip for that green menace to use him as a punching bag!"_

_"MOM! I'm fine. This..." He pointed at his face "...is nothing. Look..." He lifted the top of his gi._

_"Gohan don't" Goku tried to warn him, but he was already revealing the severe bruising on his ribs._

_Chichi stared at the state of her son, and began to chew on the dishrag she held in her hands. How was any mother supposed to bear this? Her eyes narrowed threateningly, as she advanced towards her husband, but Gohan's words, stopped her in her tracks._

_"MOM!" He snapped her attention back to him. "If dad's heart medicine doesn't work, and he gets sick, you know what will happen in this world. Everyone dies, including me. I'm already dead in the future, remember?"_

_"Thank you for that little speech young man. At least I know that there is more going through that head of yours than just martial arts techniques. I was simply going to..." She took a deep breath, "say that dinner is ready. You two need to wash up. Hurry along now." _

_..._

_"Absolutely NOT!" Chichi shook her head vigorously later that night, before she resumed the long and purposeful strokes through her unbound hair._

_"Aw, but Chichi, we're taking a whole week off to rest our bodies, let us come with you to this thing," Goku whined, standing behind her, his eyes meeting hers through the reflection in the mirror._

_"Why Goku? Why would you want to come to this conference? You hate these things!" She eyed him suspiciously, though her eyes lingered a little too long on his bare chest._

_"Aw, Chichi, that's not true, let us come pleeeeeeease!" He begged as he clasped his hands before him pleadingly._

_"Goku..." She began to refuse him._

_"We'll be good, you won't even know that we're there, promise" he turned up his eyes pleadingly at her, "pinky swear promise."_

_Chichi sighed. She could never refuse him. He was just too cute_

_"Dr Hulu will be demonstrating his new meditative study technique, I really want to see it for myself before I spend thousands of zeni enrolling Gohan, and if you two do anything to mess it up, I'll..." She held out her brush threateningly._

_But her threat was lost on her husband, because his eyes immediately lit up. "You mean we can come?" He hopped around hopefully, his toes bouncing lightly off the soft carpet._

_"Sure, you guys can come. But we leave bright and early, in respectable clothes Goku, no fighting rags!"_

_"Alright!" Goku beamed "I'm gonna go and tell Gohan the good news!" he dashed to the bedroom door._

_"That's fine. But don't distract him for too long, that math work won't do itself you know" Chichi said as she put down her brush down._

_"Sure hon," Goku said absently as he turned the handle of their bedroom door._

_"And Goku," her stern voice caused him to stop in his tracks and turn around to face her "If you and Gohan step out of line tomorrow, if you do anything at all to embarrass me in front of Dr Hulu at the conference, I'll make you regret it, understand?" She rose from the dressing table, her lilac nightie rippling against her skin as she moved to the bed._

_"Err...sure Chichi! Gotta give Gohan the good news, BYE!" He dashed out the door_

_..._

_The audience was deadly quiet as Dr. Hulu began his demonstration. He had wowed the audience with his speech, captivated them with his methodology, and had awed the diverse group of mothers, students, professionals and field experts with his quiet charisma._

_No one stirred._

_All eyes were on him, as he sat on the stage with his legs crossed beneath him, his eyes scanning through a document submitted by an expert in the audience. If his technique could be demonstrated to work, to not only commit to memory the calculations layed out in the document, but to also understand it's merits as well - every single person in the audience was bound to part with thousands of zeni, booking themselves or their children for a one on one session with him._

_Goku was at the edge of his seat. Truly, he hadn't expected to follow or understand the happenings of this conference or this Hulu guys words. He had only wanted to come because Gohan had said that the conference was being held next to 'Do- It-Dig-Out' an all you can eat doughnut competition and he was determined to lure Chichi into letting him and his son compete. He could have done it behind her back, but it's something fun he wanted to share with his son. He wanted to ensure that they both had Chichi's blessings; otherwise...there could be hell to pay later. _

_He was pretty sure, that after spending thousands and thousands of their zeni on 'Gohan's future' she was bound to be in an exceptional good mood. Very few things got her as high as the prospect of a good future for her son and he was planning to be right there by her side to capitalize on it!_

_People called him stupid and clueless, but Goku knew how to spot an opportunity, especially when it came to his erratic wife._

_So here he was at this conference, unable to take his eyes off the stage, completely captivated like the rest of the audience. _

_The more the short stubby doctor had spoken, the more Goku had found his techniques interesting. He could very well see himself using something like this to clear his head to help him progress further with his own martial arts training._

_And so, just like the rest of the audience, including his son and wife beside him, the family of three didn't so much as blink...they were riveted, enthralled, mesmerized by what was happening on stage._

_Until..._

_"Hic" a loud and shrill hiccup erupted from a member of the audience, shattering the carefully cultivated intensity of the mood._

_"Hic" it erupted again._

_Dr Hulu lost his concentration and his eyelids dropped. He started blinking, completely losing his place in the equation before him. He did not look impressed. But he quickly took a deep breath, rotated his neck and returned his full concentration to the zone._

_"Hic" another one, and the fingers that he'd set in a meditative pinch, suddenly curled and formed a fist of anger._

_"Hic...Hic...Hic...Hic, Hic, HicHicHicHic..." They just kept coming and coming faster and faster, even as Chichi tried to clamp her mouth shut_

_"HicHicHic" all eyes in the audience had turned to her now, the vein on Dr Hulu's head throbbing something nasty._

_"HicHicHic" Goku and Gohan couldn't keep it in anymore, they burst out laughing, inciting the other members of the audience to do so as well, and those not so inclined, to break out in little groups of murmurs._

_"HicHicHic" Chichi was mortified, she couldn't stop, she tried to hold her breath, pinch her nose, it was like adding fuel to fire, they just rolled out, louder and louder as her face grew increasingly red from mortification._

_"SHUT IT! SHUT IT! SHUT IT!" Dr Hulu roared, angered beyond anything the audience would have thought the meek looking doctor was capable of._

_"I'm sorry, I can't HIC contr HIC HIC ol myself..."_

_"OUT! OUT! GET THE HELL OUT OF MY CONFERENCE!" He practically stomped on his chubby legs, freaking out the mother's in the audience who had come with little children._

_"OUT! OUT! OUT!" The stumpy doctor raged._

_"Pah hah hah hah" Goku killed himself with laughter, "Come on Chichi!" He grabbed her hand, barely able to function with how much he was laughing. "Let's get outta here!" He dashed out of the hotel conference room; a laughing Gohan following behind. The boy was barely able to run with the tears of laughter in his eyes as he clutched his sides._

_"HicHicHic..."_

_Behind them other members of the audience began to scurry about, as they also sought an exit, appalled by the supposedly gentle and polite Dr's sudden burst of anger._

_"Hey, Wait a minute now, don't leave, I just meant that woman, wait. Wait. COME BACK HERE!" He yelled after them, his face boiling over with anger_

_"Pah hah hah!" Goku rolled around on the grass, he couldn't stop laughing_

_"It's not HIC funny Go HIC KU!" Chichi fumed._

_"Hah ha ha, did you see his face? He looked just like Oolong when Bulma threatened to say Piggy to give him the runs; he was so funny, and short and RED! Hah hah ha!" He wiped at his tears_

_"Pah hah hah hah!" Gohan laughed by his father's side, both their legs kicking in the air, as they struggled for breath._

_Chichi shook her head as she tried to suppress her laughter at the sight of the two of them going at it. This so called zen expert sure lost his fuse rather quickly, and Goku was right, he did look like Oolong!_

_"He was kinda red" she grinned and sat down on the grass next to her boys until they had composed themselves._

_"Say Chi...did you see that big poster with all them doughnuts on our way to the conference?" Goku asked sneakily, with Gohan trying to look neutral_

_"Poster? What poster?" She asked, genuinely confused._

_"You didn't see it ha? Well see, I think it said that there's a competition going on around near here, all you can eat doughnuts, I think..." He scratched at his head, making a great show of thinking hard about what he had seen. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what it was..." He tapped his chin_

_"All you can eat doughnuts? Goku, sweetie, are you sure you didn't imagine it?"_

_"Well gosh Chi, I'm pretty sure I saw it, could be wrong though, come, let's check it out..." He jumped to his feet and offered her his hand, "...coming son?" He winked, and grinned at his son._

_"Sure dad, let's see if it wasn't just wishful thinking," Gohan smiled_

…

Chichi emerged from the mok with the dragonball and a determined stride.

"Alright mom, the four star ball!" Goten exclaimed.

"How's Videl mom?" was Gohan's first concern.

"She's fine sweetie, she's chatting with Nawa. Her face is almost back to normal. Here you go sweetie, keep that safe for mummy will you?" She handed the ball over to her youngest.

"I'm going in to see her." Gohan announced, striding to the door.

"Gohan STOP!" Chichi blocked him. "You cannot go in there. The girls are uncovered."

"Err…" Gohan scratched his head. He didn't know what that term meant anymore. But if it was in the earthling sense of the word, then why the hell would Videl and that girl be in there naked?

"Way to go Chi, now we have three dragonballs!" Goku exclaimed happily. "Now we can head back to the ship in time for dinner."

"Not so fast Goku, I promised Nawa that we'd help her, we have to find our guide and go into the main city." She spoke with determination in her voice.

"Err…sure Chi, but can we eat first…ow!" He yelped, when Chichi clobbered him on the head. "No Goku, we will not eat or sleep, not while this poor girl is disgraced unfairly!"

"Okay, mom, you're gonna have to explain a few things to use. What is this disgraced business?" Gohan asked

"It's a kind of prison sentence Gohan. It means she has been ostracized from society for indecent and inappropriate conduct and it wasn't even her fault!" She declared vehemently. "On this planet if you show yourself or unveil yourself as they like to put it, to someone other than your 'egging' partner..."

"Err...egging?" Gohan scratched his head

"Yes, they lay eggs to reproduce here. An egging partner is like a husband." Chichi explained

"Oh" Goku and Gohan blinked

"Anyway it's considered indecent or inappropriate to unveil unless its with your egging partner. Porr Nawa was unfortunate enough to unveil with her boyfriend, thinking they were making a commitment. But he went off and reported her, and she was disgraced! Imagine, five years living in this mok territory, it's not fair."

"Just for showing your face? Jeesh." Goku scracthed at his chin. What was so bad about her face? He figured the faces must be pretty scary and stuff, to have laws like that.

"Yes Goku, just for showing her face. I'll explain it to you later. Right now we are going to the city to find the bastard that had her disgraced, and then," she clenched her fist. "I'm gonna teach that lying coward a lesson!"

Goku, Gohan and Goten could only swallow and nod in agreement. When she got like this, it was safer to just go along with her plans, otherwise...

…

Hours later, the crew from earth were finally back in their spaceship. They had left Qerux and were already headed to the forth planet. They had three dragonballs secured in the space of three months. They were making good progress.

Side by side, Videl and Gohan lay in his room. Videl shook her head as she recalled the long chat she'd had with Nawa when the others had gone off to the city. She recalled her shock and disbelief when Nawa had explained that all Qeruxian females had holes in their mouths at the top centre of their palates. All the males had long tongues with openings in their tips. Videl's eyes had widened in shock, when Nawa had explained that the simple human act of kissing that she did with Gohan all the time, was far from innocent in the Qeruxian species. It was not a prelude to anything; it was actual copulation, the equivalent of sex and the basis for reproduction. She stared at the ceiling marvelling at all the differences, it was just all so…whoa! No wonder the first commander and his men had been offended to see Goku and Gohan's faces without their veils. No wonder everyone walked around with veils on their faces. "I still can't believe it." she whispered absently

Gohan turned on his side to face her, "It's fince now," he traced a finger down her cheek. "It's like the allergic reaction never happened."

Videl giggled, "no silly, not my face. That was entirely my fault, should have just kept my veil on in that weird forest. I mean I still cant believe the thing about thier tongues and eggs and stuff."

"Yeah, it's pretty bizarre, but the universe is vast and diverse, we can't expect all life forms to have the same reproductive habits. Come to think of it, the Namekians spit out eggs as well, interesting don't you think." he smiled at her, his body reacting to her nearness.

"Well, now we know why everyone wears robes. It's not just to conceal one's figure, it's actually practical. That fluffy stuff is potent, without the robes or clothing that covers up every inch of you, people would break out all the time." She touched her face lightly, happy that it wasn't itchy, or swollen or breaking out. Nawa's gel really worked miracles.

Gohan frowned, thinking that the whole incident with her face could have been avoided. "The first commander should have explained all that stuff to us; he knew we were not familiar with their ways. We would have been more compliant and understanding." He complained, he didnt like that guy, he decided.

"I guess it's a sensitive subject to talk about. But oh my Kami Gohan, I can't believe I was walking around with my face out in the open! I'm so embarrassed now. What if we came across some male Qeruxians instead of Nawa. They would have gotten the wrong idea about me." she flushed in embarrasment.

Gohan just chuckled, "Careful Videl, if you keep talking, showing me that tongue of yours, I might get the wrong idea too." He shocked her by suddenly flipping her over, pinning her on the bed with his face just inches from hers.

"Don't expose your tongue out to me Son Gohan, I'm not that kinda girl," Videl's voice came out low and husky, her chest moving up and down.

"Too late," he leaned in and trailed the tip of his tongue across her lips. "You're the one that's unveiled. I'm already seduced." his eyes dropped down to her lips, "I think I'm gonna kiss you now Ms Satan, and if you're lucky, I might get to lay an egg in your mouth." Gohan grinned, and Videl couldn't help herself, she laughed so hard, Gohan had to kiss her to make her stop.

…

"You don't do your routine anymore." Goku commented. He was in bed already, sitting up and waiting up for Chichi.

"What do you mean?" she poked her head through the bathroom door, toothbrush in her mouth.

"You used to wash your face, apply millions of things on it and brush your hair like a hundred times before you coming to bed." He elaborated.

"Oh, that. I'm too old for that now. It's too much of a bother" She spit into the sink

"Well, you're not old anymore Chi, I keep reminding you," he chuckled.

"Yeah, well, I guess I got out of the habit, and now I just don't feel like doing it," she shrugged, rinsing her mouth with water. She dried her face and switched off the bathroom light, joining Goku in bed.

"You never used to leave your clothes lying around on the floor either."

"Yeah, once you hit seventy, then dynamics of bending down kinda change. Do they bother you?" she turned to face him.

Goku chuckled, "Bother me? Nuh" he shrugged placing his hands behind his head, "it's just different, that's all."

"Aw, what a long day, my god." Chichi stretched her arms.

"It was nice of you to help Nawa like that today." Goku thought back to the dramatic events following their trip into the city.

"Yeah, it felt pretty good to punch out that boy's father." She grinned.

Goku smiled, shaking his head in remembrance "I still can't believe that he had the girl disgraced, just because he didn't think she was good enough for his son. Nawa seems really nice."

"Yeah, parents sometimes think they know what's best for thier children. I've been guilty of that myself in the past. I'm just glad there was a happy ending. I love happy endings." She sighed dreamily; she would have given anything to see the look on Nawa's face when she realized that her boyfriend had not been the one to disgrace her. That it had all been his father, wanting to keep the kitchen girl away from her son. She was glad that Nawa was back in society, making 'egging' plans with her boyfriend. It truly warmed her heart.

Goku watched her face wistfully. She looked so happy and content, it brought back memories. In the first five years of thier marriage, Chichi almost always wore that expression. He should have worked harder to preserve it. He should have done everything in his power to keep that look of deliria on her face.

"I love happy endings too." He turned his full body towards her, cupping her face. "Chi…I wanted to come home; I did. I just couldn't. I was bound in that realm. Only a wish from the dragonballs I had in me would have released me, but I-" he didn't get to finish his sentence because Chichi shushed him by placing her finger perpendicular to his lips.

"The only happy ending I'm ever gonna get, is one without you as my husband. You belong to the universe Goku. You're its champion and your calling is too great, it will always be in demand."

"Chi,"

Chichi just shoo her head and removed his hand from her face. "Goodnight Goku." she spoke with a heavy heart and turned off the light. Her back turned to him she placed her head on the pillow and slept.

…

_That's the chapter guys. Hope you enjoyed!_

Find me as **Gue TwentyTwo **on Facebook and befriend me! Comments, suggestions, requests and all things wacky are welcome.

…

**Joy****:** I finally updated, finally! But at least now you know that I've been busy with all that TDS stuff, and since the reigns are on you this month, I'm definitely more free to work my own fics YaY! So yeah, glad you liked Sekei's past, poor bastard. Hope this chapter was fun to read, I had fun writing it, lol

**SS4Fan:** thanks for your review, and yeah, anyone would grow bitter after so much abandonment, though most people seem to think that her anger and bitterness is an overreaction, hah! 35 years is no picnic!

**Ninjapuppies:** thanks for the review! Ah, its okay, we cant all be into the same things and im pretty sure they were not trying to be mean or anything so that's fine. I have been trying to work harder on characterization since then though, so its always a good thing. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

**Gohansgirl:** I just about killed myself laughing when I read the shame, shame. Thanks for the review!

**Collission:** O.O reading fanfiction at work? Heh heh heh, just kidding. Glad you like the story so far, and thanks for the words of encouragement. I don't think he/she was flaming per say, just pointing out the things they didn't like and needed work. I've been trying to improve on characterization especially Goku's, and trying to explain the parts where he is a bit ooc. I hope his character has improved somewhat. Thank you so much for the review and I hope this chapter was able to get some smiles and a few laughs out of you. Take care.

**Kaka**: hah hah, get back together? Oh kaka, you're such a romantic, that didn't happen at all last chapter, they just made peace. Anyway, you know I've been TDS tied this past month, but now I'm back focusing on my own stories, so my next update will not take nearly as long as this. Thanks for the review Kaka, mummy appreciates it!

**Gokuandchichi4eva**: I'm so glad you enjoyed Goku and chichi's convo last chapter, I really like it too, heh heh heh. YaY if my English is improving then this fanfiction thingy I'm addicted to is totally worth it! Was very happy to hear you say that. No worries about that review, I think if anything, its made me try harder with Goku's character, I hope there has been some improvement with this chapter and the last. Aw, when I first read your review after posting that last chapter, I remember how wwarm and tingly I felt. YaY, I'm someone's fav author. I feel bad though cause this author hasn't really been that active lately. But that will change, and change soon! Watch this spot I tell you, and see how many updates for all my stories are coming round. I hope you had fun with this chapter as well.

**Xxteddygirlxx:** Hi, and thank you so much for your review. No, I'm not gonna stop writing, and even though the review made me shrink into chibi form, I'm pretty sure that he/she was not trying to be harsh, just constructive and honest. I've tried to work on improving Goku's character since, hope it shows. This chapter was a lot of fun for me to write, I hope it got some smiles and laughs out of you as well. Thanks so much for your review teddy!

**sierraLarson:** yep, can't help but sneak in some gohanxvidel moments in as well, I love them too! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you very much for your review!

**BlancheFuer07:** hi blanche, thank you for your review, and don't worry you're not the only one, I have also been guilty of not always reviewing the stories that I like, but mostly I try to do it. It was nice to hear from you though. Poor Chichi, she married an angel, but yeah, her marriage was hard. Hope you liked this chapter, and thanks again!

**Magincc:** "in a healthy manner" hah hah hah, that just made me laugh, oh man! My poor goku, I love him, but yeah, you're right, he is a terrible husband. Thanks for the review and I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

**Son Goshen:** Hi, and thanks for the review. Well to be honest, Bardock dosent seem to be all that bad. But he was still cruel and he killed and purged planets so yah, the saiyans didn't leave the best legacy in the universe. Hah hah, I liked how you said you had no trouble imagining chichi as an old bitter lady, heh heh, yeah, she had a tough marriage. But anyway, seems like these chaps are getting longer and longer eh? Oh well, cant be helped. Thanks so much for the review!

**The gansta of love:** ("I really liked the romance between Gohan and Videl. they're sweet, but what's not sweet is what Gohan did to trunks.") I don't know what to tell you, I burst out laughing completely when I read that, I don't know what got into me. But yeah, thank you so much for your review.

**Someone:** Hi there and thanks for taking the time to say all the things that you said. I thought about your comment on putting the review in my a/n, and then pulled it down immediately, though of course half the readers had already probably seen it, oh well. I don't think the review was a flame, in fact between that review and what you wrote, I have been trying to pay closer attention to my representation of Goku and I hope there is some improvement so far. The comment 'you tend to tell and not show' leaves me baffled. I actually went to Critics United and asked someone to look over my story and explain to me in dummy terms what it means, but they didn't explain it either L. Oh well, I can only keep trying I suppose. But I appreciate the time you took to say something, though I have to say that though my writing is far from amazing, I think putting it just above horrible is a tad harsh, lol. Anyway, I doubt you're even reading this so I'mo shut up now.

**Sainivy:** an update, after err…six weeks, shorter than last time but still LONG. But it wont take me as long next time though, thanks for the review!

Hikari no Tenchi: thanks for the review and YaY, at least they have made peace J

**Amore:** O.O I hope your boyfriend was looking for something better WORK WISE, not GF wise, cause otherwise that would just be…err…^^" unforgivable. Thank you for your review by the way and yes, Goku and Chichi's path has never been an easy one, only a very dedicated and strong woman could have coped with being his wife for so long. I hope you and your bf are working things out? Or is he still in Sweden?

**Satsuki:** thanks for the review and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

**Knroth**: hi and here it is, more stuff! Lol, I know it took long, but I'm already working on the next bit so I promise it wont take nearly as long as this. Thanks for the review again and I hope you had some laughs in this chapter.

**Nukidono14:** whoa! Where to begin! Hah hah hah, no! It wasn't THAT kind of night, lol, lol! Though I'm sure it would have been magical if it was. But yes, they talked and made peace, and now they can start mending their fences. I had never heard of that song that you talked about but I looked it up, aw, great song. Heh heh heh, I love Gohan and Videl, so I try to sneak in a few moments here and there, naughty me, heh heh heh. And yeah, let's go together, I want a SENSU, that way I'll just type and type and type and never stop! Thank you so much for the review and the PM and the SONG!

**Kyra storms:** KYRA! Hah hah, Hi! Yeah, I'm giddy this morning cause I just finished editing this chapter after having saiyajin beta and critique it. Anyway, thanks for that review and especially for outlining the little bits that really tickled your fancy, aw, sometimes I feel like I'm writing these stories just for you *big HUG* but ha hah, yeah, I'm on a mission to finish all my stories by December now, I'll probably be moving on to Soul Eater fics next year O.O and by the end of Decemember I'm pretty sure I'll be caught up with all of BLEACH! YaY! Anyway, no worries, constructive criticism is good, even though it can make you shrink into a chibi and wanna hide sometimes, oh well, I'm all good though. Thanks again Kyra, and I hope you enjoyed this wacky addition of a chapter. BYE!

**RedEyesFallen:** yeah, but he was married so…its difficult. Thanks for the review!

**PurpleSugarX**: Aw, I'm glad you like it. Thank you for the review!

**ChibiGoten25:** No, no abandonment will happen, in fact I've made a bet with myself to finish this and all my other stories by December. Let's GO! RARRRRRRR! Yeah, I'm on way tooooo much coffee this morning, heh heh heh. Aw Gee, thank you so much for taking the time to send me some encouragement, I really appreciate it and I wont lie it really boosts the morale to look back at the reviews when you're trying to push forth with the next chapter. I hope you continue to enjoy the story as it progresses and I hope to hear from you too whenever you get the chance. Thanks again!

**Pixelqueen:** I LOVE DBZ too! Thanks so much for the review and for reading my other fics, I saw that you put some on alert, thank you so much!

**Kawaii248:** hah hah hah, I think you're obsessed with abusing chichi, hah hah hah, it's hilarious! Hope you liked this chapter, hah hah hah!

**I love gcc:** here it is! Here it is! An update :D


	14. Chapter 14

Your feedback has truly touched me in the last few chapters, I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

Unfortunately my beta is on a leave of absence from FF related stuff for a while, so I give you this chapter raw. I hope there aren't too many mistakes.

**Disclaimer:** Goku and Chichi don't belong to me, they belong to each other.

Chapter 14

…

"Give it back Goku!" Chichi jumped up again, trying to swipe the dangling photo from his hand. "Uh-uh. No way. Finder's keepers!" Goku grinned as he easily avoided yet another attempted swipe from the jumping vixen. Chichi growled and jumped higher, high enough to make contact with the tips of his fingers. They were tauntingly pinching the corners of the glossy paper high above her reach. Her last attempt was good enough to allow her to brush her finger-tips against his larger calloused ones. But, just when she thought she had the photo, Goku simply lifted his hand higher, rendering the photo completely out of her reach.

Chichi scowled. It was futile, Goku was just too quick for even her best jumping efforts.

"Son Goku I'm warning you now, give me back that photo or else." She panted ever so slightly from exerting herself, as she stood before him. The spaceship had been unbearably hot in the last few days, so Chichi was wearing a pair of navy shorts and a simple fitted white t-shirt. "Nope." He shook his head at her threat. "This one's mine, I found it lying around in Goten's colouring book fair and square. I'm sure everyone will get a kick out of seeing this." He grinned, as he animatedly moved his eyebrows up and down, up and down, tauntingly.

"You wouldn't dare Goku!" she shrieked. She would not have that picture seen! No one was to ever see her clad in her childhood outfit. It was positively scandalous! She cursed her father as she scowled at Goku's childish taunts. Yep. This was her father's fault alright. He must have just gathered up all her old childhood stuff for Goten without checking them over first. It was the only explanation of how that photo could have sneaked itself into Goten's things in the first place.

"Heh heh heh, sure I would. Aw, come on Chi, you look so cute in this outfit." He lowered the photo down to his eyes to give it a once over. "Tell you what, when we get back home, we should ask your dad to find this helmet of yours and give it to Pan when she's born. I'll bet she'll get a kick out of wearing this outfit, imagine all the people she would zap!" Chichi pursed her lips, an image of her granddaughter parading around in her old bikini-outfit popping into her mind. It was more than enough to re-fuel her determination to get that photo. _Over my dead body!_

"That's it Mr. I warned you," Chichi immediately jumped on him. She latched herself on him, wrapping her legs around his waist and promptly attacked. "Pah hah hah," Goku broke into a fit of laughter as Chichi viciously tickled his sides. "Take THAT you big ape, and THAT," she continued to tickle him, lowering her hands to just below his rib-cage, where she knew he was most ticklish. "Ah! Chichi, not there, not there! Hah hah heh heh ooh, Chichi!" Goku wiggled about, lowering his arms to try and shield his sides from the onslaught. But Chichi was relentless, she knew his weak spots so well, he wasn't fairing well in this battle.

With his free hand, he grabbed her wrists and pinned them together, trying to catch his breath. "Oh nooo you don't," she sang, she wasn't deterred by this little set-back in the least, victory would be hers. Quickly, she planted her face just bellow his armpit, opened her mouth and grazed over the fabric of his plain t-shit with her teeth. "Ah! Ah! hah hah! No fair, no fair!" he hissed and wiggled as numerous tingles worked their way down his sides, and all the way down to his toes. It was ticklish and electrifying all in one, it was all he could do not to groan.

"Gotcha!" Chichi laughed triumphantly and snatched the photo from his hand while he was still distracted by the sensation of her teeth. She un-wrapped her legs from around his waist in a flash, landed gracefully on her feet and made a hasty run for it.

Her bare feet reverberating across the metal floor, Chichi practically flew as she ran through the living area. She jumped over a small table and a few bin-bags and leaped with a full mid-air split over the wide granite top of the kitchen counter, landing squarely on the other side.

Eep! She bumped into the hard wall that was her husband's broad chest. "Going somewhere?" He grinned down at her, making her narrow her eyes at him. His techniques were so tiresome sometimes. "You're not getting your hands on this photo Son Goku, super-speed or not!" She stuck out her tongue at him, as she curled her fingers around the photo in her hand to crinkle it up. With a mischievous glint in her eyes, she shoved the entire thing into her mouth. "Mnn…" she pushed her teeth up and down, chewing on it hard and dramatically, her cheeks protruding outwards from a mouth full of paper. She watched with satisfaction as his face contorted comically at her actions.

Goku's eyes widened in alarm, "You ate it!" he cried in disbelief, but acted quickly. "Oh no you don't Chi, that's mine!" He used his hand to grip her chin and hold her face in place, while he pushed his finger between her lips. "Say ahh," he tried to push through the barrier she had just made with her teeth. But, like an uncooperative child at the dentist's chair, Chichi shook her head as she tried to suppress the laughter that was bubbling from within her, threatening to force her to open her mouth.

"Mmn…mnnful," a muffled sound escaped her throat as she tried to force her jaw up and down some more, so she could continue chewing. "Open up Chi, say ahh, or else…" he abruptly let her chin go and placed his palm around her waist. Without moving, he let out a fluctuating air of ki against her t-shirt and Chichi doubled over with laughter from the sudden influx of air, creating an extreme tickling sensation. "Ah, Goku!" came her muffled squeal, and as soon as her mouth opened to let out the words, Goku stuck his fingers in and pulled out the soggy pieces of the paper, grinning in triumph. He didn't stop his ki though, he just kept it pouring out.

"Pah hah hah, Goku, s-s-stop….ah…G-Goku, hah ah, hah hah hah," she panted from breathlessness, her hands moving wildly to shield her side as she wiggled about. She pushed herself further and further into the kitchen cupboards, with Goku laughing and pressing up against her from between her legs.

Walking into the kitchen, Videl blinked and came to a complete stop at the scene. "Oh, um, sorry, I was just coming to get something to drink," she flushed in embarrassment. Gohan's mother was pinned-up against the kitchen cupboard with his father pressing into her, his hands grabbing onto her waist like he was about to lift her up onto the counter and have his way with her. Videl was so embarrassed, Gohan's mom was laughing and panting and wiggling and…oh man, she was pretty sure she was interrupting something.

"H-Help, Videl, get this big ape off of me!" Chichi laughed, as she continued to twist about, trying to remove Goku's hand from her waist. At the sound of the new voice, Goku turned his neck and spied his future daughter-in-law. "Oh, HEY Videl!" Goku chirped happily as he stopped his ki, and straightened up. Chichi sighed in relief, as she felt him remove his hands from around her waist.

With a playful twinkle in his eye, Goku gave Videl his full attention. "What you got on your neck there Videl? Mosquito bite?" he grinned at he girl.

"M-My n-neck? Err…" the teen crime-fighter touched her fingers to her neck nervously. _Do I have something there?_ "Um, heh, maybe," she shuffled her feet nervously. Oh man, if Gohan had left a hickey on her neck for all the world to see, she was going to kill him.

"Them space mosquito's huh? They sure _are_ a pain," Goku winked playfully at her, and poor Videl could do nothing but cast her eyes to her feet as she turned around to flee. Her cheeks were ripe from embarrassment.

"Oh, stop it Goku!" Chichi smacked his hand, "stop embarrassing our future daughter in law." Videl choked and nearly screeched at the comment, which just made Goku laugh out loud. Chichi just hit him and pushed him aside so she could get a clear path away from the cupboards. "Come dear; let's see what we can get you to drink." She took a few steps, smoothing her hands down her clothes and running her hands through her short hair to straighten it out. She then walked towards the massive fridge to help Videl pull out some refreshments.

"I…uh…I just remembered that I have to do something," Videl said lamely, and without waiting on a response, promptly dashed back to Gohan's room.

"Aw, Chichi, you see? I think you scared her off, and I wanted to show her that photo of you," Goku grinned.

"Aha, go right ahead and show her. Good luck explaining why it's got saliva all over it." Chichi shrugged and pulled open the fridge. "Root-beer?" she grabbed a grape flavoured can and tossed it in his direction. "I don't know about the air conditioning in this ship anymore Goku, its boiling in here." She said absently, as she grabbed a can for herself and rolled it across her forehead a few times to cool down.

"Yeah, weird. It just keeps getting hotter and hotter." Goku opened his own can and poured the contents of the soda down his throat. "Heh heh heh, I guess it's a good thing that Bulma is not here, roaming around in her underwear like on that first space-trip with Krilin and Gohan," he crushed the now empty can in his hand and tossed it into the bin. "Can you imagine the arguments they would have with Vegeta?" He shook his head and chuckled. "Woman, put some clothes on!" He made a stern face as he tried to imitate Vegeta's voice . "Shut up Vegeta, it's hot in here!" He spoke with his hands on his hips, in a very bad imitation of Bulma's voice.

Chichi just laughed, as she sipped leisurely at her own drink. It was good for her soul, this peace between them. With each passing day, she found that the tough scabs of the anger and bitterness of the past thirty-five years were slowly but surely chipping away.

They had left the planet Qerux exactly six-weeks ago, and since their heart to heart that night, Goku had respected her wishes and left the subject of 'them' alone.

He was also following her advice and sleeping less. He was therefore dreaming less, which meant he was remembering less about his early years, and that was a huge relief for her. _Scary Kakarot_.

He now spent most of his time playing silly and senseless games with Goten and Trunks, as well as keeping up with his training and sparing with Vegeta.

Though they were all collectively sick and tired of the seemingly endless journey to the next destination, the mood around the ship was light and positive. This was discounting the resident astronaut, who seemed to be plagued by nightmares. He had retreated so much into himslef that he was now taking his meals in the privacy of his room. Only Chichi or occasionally Gohan got to see him, and even then, he was always quick to shoo them out. It was such a Vegeta thing to do, especially with said prince seemingly growing grumpier and grumpier with each passing week.

"Listen to you, teasing your friends," Chichi shook her head at his bad impersonations of Bulma and Vegeta. It was definitely good for both of them, to be interacting normally like this, almost like the old days. It would definitely make their divorce less taxing on their children if they could get along like they'd been getting along in these last weeks. She hoped it would continue like this, especially when the time came to set up a suitable custody plan for the children. She didn't want them to feel like they had to take sides.

"I'm going to the pool, it's too hot," she fanned herself, trying to rid herself of complicated thoughts of the future. "We should ask Gohan to check that everything's fine with the ship though. I'd hate to crash into the sun. Maybe we're nearing a really hot planet or something." She used a serviette lying around on the counter to pat herself down. She just felt so hot and sticky. Damn this heat.

"The pool?" Goku chirped, grinning. "Hmnn…last one there is a wiggly worm!" He bolted in its direction without warning.

"What? Goku! Come back here, I'm not playing this childish game with you!" she yelled indignantly, even though she was already running and sprinting like mad to catch up to him.

…

"If you tell me we've run out of sodas, I think I'm gonna cry." Gohan looked up from his textbook when Videl re-entered his room empty handed. She was supposed to have gone to the kitchen to get them some drinks. They were dying of heat, and of thirst.

"Run out? Doubt it." she kicked off her flip-flops and walked bare foot towards the bed. Gohan was sitting up, wearing nothing but a pair of khaki shorts. He had the aircon at max, but for some reason, it was getting hotter and hotter in the ship. "So what happened then? What happened to the sodas?" he closed his text-book and gave her and her empty hands his full attention.

"Your parents happened." She said sardonically.

"My parents?" he drew a complete blank at that.

"Yeah, they were…um…rather busy in the kitchen." She climbed onto the bed and lay down on her back with her hands sprawled out.

Gohan's eyes immediately widened in alarm as he scooted himself down next to her. "Tell me they weren't doing _that_ in the kitchen!" His voice reached an all new unnatural high.

Videl looked up at him and shrugged. "Oh well, not exactly _that_." She said dryly. "It was getting there though. I was lucky I didn't come five minutes later." She shrugged it off, bringing her hand towards her face to fan herself, this heat was impossible.

Gohan groaned scooting further down, his legs dangling off the bottom of the bed. He placed his head on Videl'd stomach, in complete disbelief. Honestly! His parents would be the end of him. Okay fine, he understood that seven years was a long time to be separated, especially for his mom since she was the one left alive, but come on, it had been four months now, wasn't the reunion honeymoon over already? And for that matter, couldn't they contain their exploits to the bedroom?

"Sorry you had to see that Videl, parents can be so embarrassing." He said sheepishly, his eyes fixed on the ceiling.

"Well they _were_ separated for a long time from what you told me so…" she shrugged again, "my dad can be pretty embarrassing too sometimes. Just, in a different way." She shook her head at the very thought, at least with Gohan the situation involved both his parents. _Her_ father on the other hand had groupies, sis! She grimaced at the very thought of what went down on those so called 'tours' of his. Her fingers found their way to his head, and she began to trace small circles in his scalp absently. "You know," she said thoughtfully, "it's been weeks since I've called him up. Poor dad has probably torn out his hair out from worry by now." She pulled herself to a sitting position. "Ask o'l grumpy face for the satellite phone will ya? He's been hogging it as usual." She dropped back to the bed.

Gohan sighed. "True. Vegeta's been hogging that thing. I never pictured him for much of a phone guy, but he's always on it, talking to Bulma. Well, I guess he misses his wife." Gohan sympathized.

"I still don't get it you know. Bulma is so charming and vivacious. I don't know what she sees in him. He's just so grumpy all the time! And that's when he's not being an arrogant ass." Videl gave her honest opinion of the so called prince of all saiyans.

"He's not that bad." Gohan felt the need to say something in his defense, even though he knew that Vegeta was both those things: arrogant _and_ grumpy. Though, he'd been more grumpy than arrogant on this particular trip.

"Oh please Gohan, the guy is a total grouch. I'm kinda glad that he keeps to himself. Plus, he's so short." Videl crinkled the space between her eyes as she spoke.

Gohan just smiled, lifting himself off of her and jumping off the bed. "Well, his upbringing hasn't been the easiest. I think he doesn't know _how_ to be any different." He lifted himself up, "plus, _you're_ short too, Bulma and I must have the same taste in height." He grinned, and jumped away to avoid her swift oncoming whack. "I'll be right back with the sat phone so you can call your dad." He strolled out the door, chuckling.

Videl watched him close the door behind him and jumped to her feet. She ran to the bathroom and stared at the hickey on her neck and flushed. If it wasn't for Goku's teasing, she wouldn't even have noticed it. What she wouldn't give to get on the phone and tell Erasa all the scandalous things she'd been up to on this trip! To think that just four months ago she had been so shy around him after coming to terms with her feelings. Truth be told she had been more than just a bit freaked out too, with him resurrecting her at the price of the whole planet, she couldn't deny that his feeling for her ran pretty deep too, though neither had really talked about them.

_"V-Videl, we shouldn't," he rasped. He could barely get the words out past his heavy breathing._

_"Shh," she planted a kiss on his lips. "Rule number three, Videl always sets the pace," she kissed him again and let her hand continue on its downward adventure._

She smiled at the memory. She really couldn't wait to tell Erasa about her adventures. She could already imagince her squealing! But just as quickly as the smile came, it vanished. _She doesn't even know that I'm alive. I hope dad has made some kind of public announcement. The whole world knows I died in the explosion on the bus. Things are gonna be awkward when I return to earth alive, that's for sure. _

The soft click of a door closing from the bedroom made her flush the toilet and run the tap on the wash-basin just for the hell of it. For some unknown reason, she felt embarrassed about running off to check on her love-bite, as if Gohan would even guess that that's what she was doing in there.

"You got the phone," she smiled, emerging from the bathroom when she spied the communication device in his hands. "Yep. Got it!" Gohan set it on the table, smiling back at her. "Do you want me to set it up for you?" he asked, even though he was already on the job.

…

"Pah hah hah hah! Tell me you didn't Goku!" Chichi couldn't stop laughing; only Goku got himself into these sorts of things.

The duo was taking a break from their swim. They were just leaning out from the pool, their arms supporting their body weight, with the water lapping gently on their sides. "Tell me you didn't just assume Goku!" Chichi looked up at him with bright eyes, as she tried to contain her laugh at his absurdity.

Goku scratched his head and chuckled, "I thought it was a toilet Chi, I wouldn't have 'gone' if I hadn't." He told her truthfully.

"But Goku! An overturned patch of dirt, really? Only you would make such an assumption." She shook her head at his child-like logic.

"It was the only thing I could think of. You have to understand Chi. They have no houses, no buildings, no shelter at all. The dragons just live freely around, and when it rains they just hang out in caves or under these really big pretty trees. I felt kinda silly having to ask Shenron about a toilet, so I just explored a bit. When I saw that patch of freshly overturned soil, I thought, aha! They must do it like the cats back home. You know how cats just do their business on the ground and then cover it up with soil?" He paused his tale to see is she agreed with his logic, but Chichi's face was on the verge of another bust of laughter, her expression said that she absolutely did not agree with it! "Aw, come on Chi, I didn't know it was Sherata's nest thingy, I just squatted down and did my business." He shrugged.

"A nest? It was a nest? Pah hah hah, Goku that's terrible!" she covered her mouth with her hand trying to stifle her laugh. "Oh my goodness, Goku! I can't believe it. And then what happened?" She asked with amused curiosity, her face radiant and shimmering just a few inches from his.

"Well, I was just starting to scoot up some soil, you know, to cover it up and stuff, when I came across these hard structures." He said conversationally. "Ah! Goku! You're still so wild!" she shook her head, seriously, only Goku!

"At first I thought it was stones or something," he continued, "but I was surprised cause I could sense some kinda small-ish kis in there. I dusted off more soil and realized that they were the shells of hatched dragon eggs, two of them!" He made a 'two' with his fingers. "The baby dragons were still curled up inside all tiny and cute and sound asleep, aww, those little guys." The expression that befell over his face said the memory was still nice and warm for him. Chichi couldn't imagine baby dragons being cute however, she had this image of them resembling ugly little crocodiles, but what did she know?

"I remember thinking that it was odd that they were sleeping in shells underneath the soil," Goku continued, "but oh man, I felt real bad about what I'd just done. Using their sleeping place as a toilet like that. So I was just squatting there, wondering what to do to clean up you know, and whoa! Sherata's tail suddenly came out of nowhere and whacked me so hard and so far I went spinning. It got me right here," he trailed a path from his stomach with his hand, it stretched and curved all the way up to his chest. "I tell ya Chi, up till Porunga's wish, I still had the scars from that day, even after the thirty or so years in that realm."

"Really? She just whacked you? No questions asked?" Chichi followed the movement of his hand, as it trailed his chest, but of course there were no scars, his chest and stomach were as clear and as perfect as they always were. She tried not to focus on that though, Goku was no longer hers to perve.

"Yeah, she did a real number on me. Them dragon tails have these thorn-like things running down their sides. They're pretty tough, hard like horns you know, only way stronger. It hurt big-time, for days and days." He grinned at her, like being in pain for days and days was something to celebrate.

"Well Goku, I can't say I blame her," Chichi shook her head. "If I caught someone using Gohan's or Goten's cots as a toilet while my poor babies were sleeping, I'd-" but Goku interrupted her before she could finish,

"I know, you'd beat them till the end of time, I know." He grinned, throwing his head back into the water as he floated leisurely on his back. "I'm lucky it was just Sherata then. She's not nearly as dangerous as you." He laughed and then he dunked his head into the water, taking an unprepared Chichi along with him. "Ph hl phl…Goku!" She sputtered as she pushed her head above the chopped surface, water coming out of her mouth as she kicked her feet beneath her to keep herself afloat. "You're such a big-idiot!" She splashed water onto his face with a grin, wiping the trickle of water from her face.

"Heh heh heh," Goku splashed a bit of water back in her direction. "Well, I've always been a big idiot you know," he smiled at her, wiping the water pouring down his own face. It was rare for his hair to be on the flat side like it was now. It was all wet, damp and excessively dark. "Yes, you have." She agreed, smiling back at him, "you've always been _my _big-goofy-idiot." she said without thinking about her words. She found her hand brushing aside the damp spikes of hair that had fallen to his eyes. Their smiles and their eyes held in that moment, and neither swimmer felt the need to look away.

Now, Chichi had been the one to teach Goku many things about life throughout their marriage. She had taught him from the very basic of basics like proper hygiene, to the more broad, personal and subjective things like music. She had been the one to attempt to teach him about etiquette and manners, just as she'd been the one to school him on the intricacies of making-love and how it could later lead to reproduction. So much of the little he understood about humanity, about civilization, love and relationships, he owed to her teachings and patience.

But staring down at her lovely wet face, with the flood lights of the pool-room illuminating her skin, Goku realized that of all the things she'd had to teach him in their time together, there was one thing that even he had never needed a lesson for. He had never needed her to teach him or to explain how to identify the right moment to lean in for a tempting kiss. He'd picked up that ability as easily as he'd picked up the knack to exploit an opponent's weakness. Looking at her now, with shiny droplets of water from his thick hair dripping on her shoulders, Goku knew that the moment was right.

He could feel it lingering in the stillness of the hot air as their eyes held; just as he could see it illuminated in the colouring of her skin when her emotions were unguarded. It was betrayed in the way his muscles contracted and the way his breath hitched, and it was confirmed in the way her chest rose and fell.

No, Goku didn't need to have gone to school for this, it was engraved in his instincts, as natural to him as the natural pull of gravity on the last droplet of water falling on to her skin.

So when he followed his instincts, daring to lean down to brush his lips tentatively against hers, it came as no surprise to him, that Chichi merely closed her eyes and parted hers to welcome him.

It had taken him weeks in the beginning of their marriage to read her body just right, but with just the two of them living so far out from the next dose of society, he'd had more than enough time to explore her body and its secrets thoroughly, until he had become an expert. So when she made that sweet humming sound in his mouth, Goku knew that she was entirely relaxed. He slipped his arms into the water and around her waist and promptly killed any lingering distance between them. The water lapping gently against their chests, Goku deepened the kiss and crashed her body against his.

...

"That bad huh?" Videl bit her lip as the guilt mounted. Her father had just given her a breakdown of how badly things were progressing back on earth. Earthquakes, floods, tornados, all kinds of natural disasters were starting to sprout out all over the place. The earth was already feeling the effects of the black-star dragonballs, and it killed her to know that it was all because of her. Scientists around the globe were baffled, and thousands of people were losing their homes with each new disaster. It was looking grim, and it was only the beginning. _My life alone is not worth all this damage, all this suffering. Gohan, what were you thinking?_

"I don't want you to worry about all that stuff Videl, just keep yourself safe out there, okay?" Hercule all but wept with emotion. He missed his baby girl, and just wanted her home, nice and safe.

"I'm taking good care of myself dad. We already have three dragonballs, so we're just about half-way there." She informed him, she suddenly felt the pressure and urgency of their mission. "You have to promise me dad, you have to promise to make sure that all those affected by the disasters are being well taken care of." She pleaded; it was the only way she'd be able to sleep.

"I've already set it up in your name Videl. We have a nice foundation that's helping out as best as it can. I have people dealing with it, don't worry." He assured her. From the corner of his eye, the champ suddenly he spied one of Gohan's spikes in the background, and his fear suddenly took on new heights. "Videl! That Gohen boy hasn't tried anything frisky on my baby girl has he?" He blurted out of nowhere, practically throwing himself at the screen to thoroughly check the image behind his daughter.

Gohan flushed, crimson, and buried his face back in his tex-book. If only the champ knew!

"Dad! Of course not!" Videl yelled indignantly. "Besides, you always said I could date a boy if he was stronger than you. Well, guess what, Gohan's stronger than you, so there!" she frowned at him.

Gohan couldn't help the small smile that graced his lips. It was good to hear her declare them out in the open. It saved him an awkward conversation later.

Hercule's lip trembled at her words. This was exactly what he feared the most. He wanted better for his little girl than some freakishly strong alien. He wanted a normal boy! "b-but, b-but Videl, he's an alien! He's no good for you, he comes from a family of weirdos! Please sweet-pea, I'll let that nice boy Sharpener take you out on a date, he's been so heartbroken by your death. Anyone but that freaky boy! " he wailed, flaying his legs dramatically in front of the camera.

"Euw dad! Sharpener?" Videl grimaced in disgust. She loved the blonde jock to bits, they'd always been friends, but anything more than that was just…yuck. "I've heard enough on this subject dad. Now, would you please stop embarrassing me and tell me about the crime-rate in my city?" she yelled at him.

This was exactly why she didn't call him as often as she would have liked to. He was just crazy at the best of times.

…

Moaning, Chichi arched her head back as Goku's lips nibbled on the soft flesh of her neck. It was always the same with them, it didn't take much to get the sparks flying, to get the heat building and to get her core melting. She tightened her legs around his waist and let the buoyancy of the water keep her afloat. Using one hand, Goku made a few strokes in the water to push it back, so the momentum could push them forward, still latched to Chichi by the scrape of his teeth.

Each time she moaned and gyrated herself forward, pressing her mid-section against his groin, Goku's stomach muscles contracted as his breath hitched. He was already on fire, and he was impatient to scratch that itch. Reaching the edge of the pool, he promptly deposited her bottom on the pool-side. Still immersed in the water from his waist down, he stepped between her legs and peeled down the straps of her swimming costume from her shoulders. As they fell away, revealing her bare hardened nipples, Goku buried his face between them and brought forth his hands to work both mounds of dark flesh simultaneously. Chichi moaned and dug her fingers into his hair. She could feel the heat in the air beating down on her back, she could hear the echo of her repeatedly broken heart warning her against giving into this delirious madness, but she didn't care, not really. They were finally 'them' again. For the past six weeks, they'd hung out, mostly just goofing around and being silly. Without the serious subject of their past sprouting in to stir up old hurts, and without the daunting uncertainty of another damned future flapping loudly at her ears; Chichi didn't see why they couldn't just take a time out and get physical. She just told herself that they were both consenting adults, and that this didn't have to mean anything. Goku owed her, she reasoned, and if she wanted to indulge in a little sex to compensate herself for thirty years worth of parched drought, then by Dende, she was more than entitled to do so!

_Right. _Came a voice from her head._ Like it could ever just be sex between you two._

Shutting up the meddlesome and cautious part of her, she slowly let Goku push her down until her back was flat on the tiles. Goku levitated out of the water and came to lie on top of her. And as the wet fabric of his shorts made contact with the now dry skin of her thighs, Chichi opened her eyes and caught him staring at her with eyes as dark as coal.

She shivered slightly at their intensity, and hooked her arms around his neck to pull him down towards her mouth. Goku groaned, his erection pulsing and pressing into the corner of her thigh. He wanted this so badly, but after the aftermath of the waterfall, he had to be sure that she was sure this time.

_"I'll never forgive you for this!" _He remembered how she had yelled at him furiously after waking up naked next to him, the morning after the waterfall. She had then turned tail and practically took the door down in her haste to get away from him. Yes, he wanted to be with her, but it had to be mutual. "Chi," he breathed with great difficulty, pulling away from her hot and demanding mouth. "Chi, are you sure?"

Her chest rising then falling, rising then falling beneath him, Chichi reluctantly peeled her eyes open, and just as she was about to give her answer, the space-ship made a sharp jolt and they were suddenly at a seventy degree angle, sliding down the slippery tiles and...splash... back into the water.

They began kicking with their feet against the force instinctively to keep themselves afloat. "Wha…?" she opened her mouth to speak, but flayed her arms instead as another tremor rocked the pool-room.

"Entering planetary atmosphere," a computerized voice announced, and Son Goku, who rarely ever cursed unless it was absolutely called for, muttered incomprehensible curses under his breath.

…

"Real smooth Gohan," Trunks mocked the teenage pilot when they finally came to a stop. It had been the worst landing ever. Gohan was pretty sure that the ship was dented in more than one place. They may have to take a look and fix a few things.

"It's not my fault that this planet has such a rough rocky terrain Trunks, I did my best." Gohan responded sourly. Really, some people had no gratitude. This was supposed to be Sekei's job, he was the expert. You'd think they'd be grateful that he'd volunteered to step-up in the astronaut's place, now that he wasn't leaving his room.

"Excuses, excuses." Trunks shook his head at him, "like mom always says, if you're too dumb to get something right, at least have the decency to admit it."

"Trunks Briefs, if you call my son dumb one more time, you'll eat your mother's frozen food packages from now on, you hear me?" Chichi glared at the purple head as she joined the rest of the crew in un-strapping themselves.

Goten snickered, "I dare you to say it Trunks? I dare you." Goten grinned at him.

"Yeah right Goten. No amount of gratification from insulting your brother is worth eating mom's frozen foods. Yuck!" he grimaced as he hopped out of his chair.

"What's gratification?" Goten followed after him.

"Never mind Goten, never mind."

…

"Talk about dull." Videl looked around the rocky terrain completely unimpressed. This had to be one dull, ugly planet. There were no visible celestial bodies in the silver-grey skies, but damn, something was generating that oppresive heat.

"What is it Kakarot, spit it out!" Vegeta confronted Goku when he saw the thoughtful expression on his face. They had all come out of the ship to take a look at the new planet. There was nothing to see really, just rocks upon more rocks. No wonder Gohan had had such a tough time landing. The only thing of note, was the unbearable and oppresive heat.

While the rest of them had tried to walk around without breaking their necks, Goku had remained in the same spot, his eyes darting from left to right in serious thought.

"Speak up Kakarot, what is it?" Vegeta snapped at the taller saiyan. The fool never wore that expression unless something was amiss. It irritated him that he couldn't sense anything out of the norm.

"It's Yardrat," was Goku's quiet response. "I'm sure of it." he said wistfully, his eyes looking out into the distance.

"Is that all?" Vegeta turned from him. "You nearly had me worried. In that case, you definitely don't need me for this. They're all your friends' right? Meh…very well then, go on and 'visit'. Just bring the damn dragonball when you're done so we can get off of this blasted rock" he spat, and slipped back into the ship.

"Wow Trunks, your dad's real grumpy." Goten observed.

"Yeah. He likes it better back at home. Don't know why, mom's always yelling at him all the time." Trunks shrugged.

"Are you sure Goku?" Chichi took a few unsteady steps in his direction. The rocks were jiggered and slippery, even though she was wearing flat shoes, it was still dangerous. Goku grabbed her hand and steadied her, his eyes still cast outwards into the far distance. "Yeah, I'm sure. This is Yardrat, I'd know it anywhere."

_'Saffra'_ the name rang in Chichi's head out of nowhere.

That was the name Goku had spoken off a LOT when he had first come home from Yardrat. It had been Saffra this, Saffra that. She was a woman, so she wasn't exactly immune to insecurities, but the first time in her marriage, she had actually entertained the notion that Goku might have been unfaithful to her with this Saffra. She had been able to squash and dismiss that idea quickly though. The truth was, even though things had changed between them from their first five years of marriage, especially given that every passing day was a countdown to the ultimate showdown with the then dreaded Androids, despite all that, they had never been more in-love in those three years, knowing that if things didn't go in their favour, those years would have very well been their last.

Of course, the notion of him cheating on her had crept up on her again when he'd left for Uub's village for all those years. She had agonized about it, not understanding how he could stomach to be away from her for so long out of choice. And so, upon his return as a shrunken child, after he'd finally defeated Baby on earth, her heart had literally stopped when Goku had announced that she was to stay put on the Planet Tuffle and not come to earth, to him. She had immediately seen red, old insecurities leaping to the surface.

_"Goku! You're planning something, you don't want us to come back!" she shoved Gohan aside from the two way screen and planted her face in front of the monitor._

_"No!" Goku flayed his arms in denial, his kid-face breaking out in a panic. "That's not it at all, I promise!"_

_"I'm too old for you now, is that it?" her lip quivered, tears spilling from her eyes. "You've found a pretty young girl your age, haven't you?" she broke down and cried, not caring that everyone was there to witness her pitiful insecurity. It was hopeless, all hopeless. With Goku so young now, it made sense that he'd want to start afresh with a young girl. It was too much to bear, all those years alone, waiting for him while he trained Uub, only to be replaced by some toddler, a girl a quarter their age because of that stupid wish. Why? Why was she always the one to suffer? The one to always end up alone?_

_"Chichi you know that's not true," Goku's denial penetrated through to her breakdown. His voice was so gentle and sincere when he said her name, she almost felt bad for her accusatory outburst. "I just don't want you to come back to earth because it's going to blow up in two weeks." he explained, his eyes fixed on hers, willing her to believe him. _

Of course, she had believed him, immediately.

That is, until Vegeta had burst her bubble one day while she was visiting Bulma, whining about Goku's departure with Shenron. "Of course he's found another female there. Don't ever forget, a Saiyan needs only three F's to survive. Feed, Fight, Fuck." And while Bulma had screeched and clobbered her husband for his poor taste in words, Chichi had run-away, losing herself in the vast grounds of the compound, where no-one would see her break down and cry.

How could she not believe Vegeta's words? Goku was never one to deny himself of his more basic needs, he was very indulgent. He liked to eat to his heart's content, he loved to fight until he had no strength left in him, and he enjoyed making love until they were both spent, unable to do anything other than lie in each other's arms and sleep. He was just simple that way. And his simplicity was precisely what had scared her the most. Would he even see the wrong in being with another woman? If he only considered it as a means to fulfill a basic urge? When she had realized that she didn't know the answer to that question, she had panicked, imagining of sorts of things.

It never helped that Goku had never come back from that last trip to ease her fears. She had waited for him until she literally grew old and grey.

Recently, she had again, re-visited the subject of his potential infidelity at the waterfall, but Goku had once again dismissed the notion as ludicrous. She had believed him wholeheartedly, even though he had just confessed to kissing that dead spell casting witch.

Yet, standing alongside him now, here on the treacherous rocks of this planet, knowing that it was the home world of the one woman who had rescued, healed and housed him for an entire year, she couldn't help but feel a tad shaky.

"Saffra," she heard the whispered name escape his lips as soft as a breeze, and in that moment something in her shifted, especially upon hearing the tenderness in which it was spoken. Chichi pursed her lips together; frankly she didn't care one way or another what Goku and Saffra's relationship _was_ or had been. She didn't care. Once they got back to earth, they would go their separate ways anyway, they would be getting a divorce, so he could re-visit any old flames anytime he dam well wanted, she fumed in her mind, refusing to give in to the stinging beginning to prick at her eyes.

_It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, no matter what I find out, it means nothing. Goku and I are finished._

Yet still, as much as she convinced herself that she didn't care, as she stood there holding his hand, quietly watching the way he just stood there, his eyes brimming with wistful nostalgia, she just knew, she just knew that she would hate this Saffra of Yardrat.

…

_That's the chapter you guys. _

I live only for your feedback you guys, so please, please be kind and give it. I know that sometimes one just doesn't feel like it, but it's christimas, okay, so maybe in a few weeks its Christmas, heh heh, yeah, yeah, I know, I'm stooping as low as to play the Christmas card. Pathetic ne?

Excuse the absence of my usual responses, it's a onetime thing cause I have to dash out to a Christmas party.


	15. Chapter 15

**Am still beta-less, *sigh***

Thank you to those that reviewed the last chapter. You other guys are just big'ol meanies.

**Disclaimer:** Goku and Chichi, sitting on a tree, K I S S I N G! First comes marriage, then comes kids, then comes Raditz, to take it all away.

Chapter 15

…

Their first stop was the guardian's tower.

Goku and three short, pink, wrinkled and hunched guardians of the planet had exchanged warm greetings, even though they'd been quick to remind him that he still owed 'fees' for the damage he'd done to the planet on his last 'visit'. Goku had just scratched his head and chuckled, offering them a bag-full of earth jewels that Bulma had included as part of their kit. The guardians had been really pleased with the colourful stones. They would definitely fetch a good price on the inter-planetary market. They're own rocky and dull planet didn't have much by way of natural jewels. In reality, the stones were meant to act as currency in the event that the space-travelers needed to purchase anything scientifically worthwhile on their journey for Bulma.

Once the payment and pleasantries were done, the guardians instructed Goku and company to stay put on the tower while they waited for an escort to take them down into the general populace.

It didn't take long before someone materialized before them.

"Goku!" The alien's face lit up. "Goku! It's really you!" He threw his whole body forward and tackled the earth raised saiyan. "I can't believe it!" the arriving alien's voice trembled with emotion.

"Whoa!" Goku staggered back from the force and hit the floor, "Chimz?" He picked up his head and stared at the slightly familiar face hovering over his in ecstatic glee. "Little Chimz?" His eyes widened questioningly, "Little Chimz!" He exclaimed in affirmation, his face breaking into a toothy smile. "I can't believe it's you. Man oh man, you're HUGE!" Goku looked him over and laughed as he returned the younger man's fierce embrace. Chimz held on to him fervently through bouts of laughter.

_Saffra's son_, Chichi recalled from Goku's stories.

Goku was the first to break free and rise off the ground. He offered the younger alien a hand and helped him stand. Chichi, Gohan, Videl, Goten and Trunks stood silently on the side, watching the happy reunion, each with their own mixed feelings. Vegeta and Dr Doi had refused to journey with Goku to the guardian's tower, neither felt the need to leave their ship. Vegeta couldn't be horsed to do it, and Sekei was just terrified of what might happen if he did. Everytime he even considered the notion of stepping outside the ship, the memory of pink burning flames engulfing him and burning him alive, only to cripple and immobilize him in the cruelest of ways would just pop into his mind, and the astronaut would just sink to his knees from fear.

Curiously Goku's party continued to watch as the two men suddenly shared a knowing smile and promptly nodded their heads as if to agree on something.

"The lebili goes round and round" the two of them began to chant simultaneously as they rolled their arms and twisted them behind their backs."Then it squeals oh so very loud," they paused, and let out a rather disturbing scream, that shocked the onlookers. "When it runs out of oil," continued their little sing-song chant and then prompltly shocked their observers the two of them immediately pounced on each other, with each trying to grab the other's arm. Of course Goku was too quick for Chimz. "Hah hah, you've gotten sloppy over the years Chimz," Goku laughed, as he folded the younger man's arms and legs like a box, as he continued to chant. "It makes a krrkrr sound and…JAMS!" He pushed the man's head down, bending his neck and sticking it in the space between his legs. Chimz was completely folded like a pretzel now, with Goku knotting his arms so he couldn't move. Chimz struggled for a few minutes, but Goku's lock on his limber limbs was solid, he was without a doubt stuck.

"Okay, Okay! I give up! I've jammed." Chimz conceded. Goku laughed, and helped the alien out of his limb lock.

Chichi couldn't take her eyes off Chimz. She drank in everything about him, noting the similarity of his attire with that which Goku had arrived from Yardrat in. She took in his smooth pink skin, his large pointed ears, his impressive height, his lean graceful limbs and the feminine-like beauty of his alien features, features completely unlike the old, shriveled up guardians they had first met with only one disturbing thought in mind – _is this what you also look like Saffra?_

"Man Chimz, I can't believe it. You've grown so much!" Goku ruffled the life-like transparent 'roots' sticking out and twirling from behind Chimz's head. The yardranians were intrinsically bold. The roots were basically folds of bumpy tough skin from underneath the scalp. They protruded in linear bumps resembling thick cornrows from under the surface of the skin, not unlike the roots of a tree from underneath the ground. Only they extended out at the back of the head into long tendrils.

"Well yeah," Chimz blushed, "ten-years is a long time, I even got my scales now."

"You did?" Goku beamed at him, "Wow Chimz, green or blue?"

"Green," Chimz smiled, unable to hide the pride in his voice as Goku wolf-whistled. The yardranians grew hard shell like scales down their backs when they hit puberty. All women grew a pale peach coloured scatter, while the men grew either a green or a blue one, depending on whether or not they were going to be fertile.

"Green huh? Wow, so they'll definitely be little Chimz's running around in the future." Goku slapped him on the back. "Congratulations,"

"Aww, gee Goku," he blushed, embarrassed as his eyes took in the rest of Goku's group and suddenly remembered his manners. He straightened up and made eye contact with each individual. He clasped his hands together and made a formal bow towards them. Once he had bowed five-times, one bow per person, he smiled as he took in all their appearances. They all bore the same features as Goku: pale and thin skin, thick animal-like fur on their heads, pointed noses and perhaps their most noticeable feature, flat narrow eyes, embedded inside their skulls.

Yes, these strangers were definitely of Goku's kind. Chimz recognized the princess right away from Goku's 'Litoro'. There was no question in his mind that it was her, even though it looked like she had shed or trimmed down on the fur on her head.

"So, is this the princess from your stories?" he addressed Goku, though his warm smile was directed at Chichi.

_Princess?_ Chichi quirked her brow.

"Heh heh heh, yeah it is Chimz." Goku laughed almost nervously. "This is my wife, Chichi. Chi, this is Chimz, the little boy I told you about. His family took me in and looked after me while I was recovering from the explosion on Namek, remember?"

_Oh, how could I forget?_ Chichi thought. Upon his return, it had been Saffra this, Saffra that, he had spoken of her kids, Chimz and Laylai too, but she had been too sour about any mention of Saffra to really build a long distance affection towards them.

"Your highness," Chimz made a curtsy and kissed her hand.

"Oh! No. No. I'm not really a princess." Chichi blushed, waving off the formal etiquette. This Saffra had obviously taught her son well in the manners department.

"You're not?" Chimz looked shocked and wounded, like something had just been taken away from him. Goku had repeatedly regaled to him and his little sister the grand tale of a monkey-boy rescuing a beautiful princess. The two of them had loved that tale; it had had everything little boys and girls worshipped. Magic clouds and fans, danger, adventure, bravery, it never got old and they never grew tired of hearing it. Laylai had particularly enjoyed the part about Goku proposing in the ring, after not recognizing the grown up princess. She had found it all so fitting and romantic, poor Goku had to tell it almost every day.

Chichi saw Chimz's wounded expression after her declaration and immediately felt bad. "I mean, I am a princess. Well...I was...will be, ack, just call me Chichi, please." She felt silly about her royal blood, especially because for the last seventy years she had lived without recognizing it. She was shocked that Goku had spoken of her as if she was some kind of real princess, even though, technically she was. It just seemed weird somehow. Things were bound to be different now though, since she was planning on going back to that life and taking over from her father. She supposed it was time to get re-acquainted with her old childhood title.

"Princess Chichi." Chimz practically beamed in unbridled adoration. "I am called Chimz, after my grandfather. It is an honour to meet you. Goku told us so much about you and Gohan. I can only assume that one of you is Gohan?" he stared at the rest of the group. "Forgive me, I thought that Goku only had one son, but you," he kneeled down in-front of Goten, "you resemble him too much to not be his son."

"Yeah, I'm Goten! Hi Chimz!" Goten chirped happily. "Yeah he's my dad. People say we look alike," he took a moment to ponder that with a thoughtful expression, before he continued. "This is my friend Trunks, his dad's in the ship. He's feeling grumpy today, so he'll probably call Bulma and complain again. And this is my big-brother Gohan, he's pretty strong like my dad, maybe stronger and _that_." He pointed, "is Gohan's girl Videl, she's pretty cool for a girl, she fights crime and stuff and they do kissy-kissy stuff with Gohan and _that_-"

"Whoa! Goten!" Gohan flushed, clamping his hand on the running mouth. "Never mind the little tyke, he just gets carried away sometimes." He took a few steps forward. "Hi, I'm Gohan, nice to meet you Chimz." He extended his hand.

Once everyone had had the opportunity to exchange a few pleasantries, a brimming Chimz was more than ready to escort the visitors into the general populace. "Allow me to transport you all into the city of Fondue." He said excitedly, placing two fingers to his forehead.

"This is the most exciting thing that's happened since I got my scales! I must introduce you to my little sister and my mama right away, they're gonna die of shock at seeing Goku again."

...

"Your dad's a real popular guy," Videl nudged Gohan. They had left the Guardian's tower via instant transmission to venture into the general populace of Fondue. So many natives of all ages had come to greet Goku: The very short, old and wrinkled, the tall lithe and elegant youth, and the tiny little pink children, whose ears looked way too big for their little faces. It seemed he'd made lots of friends during his stint on the planet. The reunion between Goku and the rest of Chimz's family – Saffra and Laylai, had been rather long and emotional. Chichi had stood quietly on the side, watching them all embrace, laugh, cry, like they were some big re-united family. She couldn't take her eyes off Saffra.

"Yeah, dad's always had that effect of people. He's an awesome guy." Gohan watched almost enviously from a distance as Goku shared a laugh with a group of native men. They had all been welcomed with happy cheers, food and drink. He could not believe how much the slender yardranians could put away in their tummies. They more than just rivaled hisown monstrous appetite, and the food had not only been plentiful, but ridiculously tasty as well. He could see how his dad could have spent such a long time here. It was a paradise for a saiyan tummy.

It had been quiet the occasion, but now it was late, and things were winding down. Knowing how apprehensive Videl was about the situation on earth, Gohan was anxious to get the hunt for the next dragonball under way.

"Gohan look," Videl pointed to the corner of the tent like dwelling they were currently in. "Goten and Trunks are out."

"Oh boy. I can't believe they just passed out like that," Gohan began to walk in their direction. "Poor little guys had too much excitement."

"So, you think there's a hotel around here? With all the noisy panel beating your dad's friends are doing on the ship, we should all find an alternative place to sleep tonight." Videl pointed out.

"Let me grab the boys, and then we'll ask Saffra or Chimz about a hotel. I guess its safe to say we'll pursue the hunt for the dragonballs tomorrow."

…

"Saf, I need to see the spirit-walker," Goku said casually. The impromptu celebration of his return was dwindling down, it was getting late, and people were starting to go back to their homes. "You think you can arrange it for me?"

"You wish to see the Shaman Goku, but why?" She asked worriedly, her whole demeanor changing to that of concern. "You're troubled? What's wrong?" She touched his shoulder lightly.

Chichi didn't even know why her eyes were following the elegant woman's gestures so closely. Okay, so maybe she did know why. Saffra was so tall and lithe; she looked like some kind of mythical goddess with that pale pink skin, those big blue eyes, sharp distinct features and twirling roots. It was truly a humbling experience, watching her move.

She had hoped that the woman would look more like the prunish guardians.

Why should she even care how attractive or unattractive Saffra was? Who cared if Goku'd lived in her house, with her two kids all those years ago? Who cared if this ethereal doctor or 'healer' as they referred to the profession on planet was the one that had tended to her husband's every need for one whole year? Who cared? Certainly not her, no sir, she didn't give one aorta. She was done with Son Goku for good, she reminded herself, turning up her face at the conversing duo haughtily.

_Look at her, is she even walking? Humph! More like gliding. Who has skin like that anyway? Look at those ears, big much? Are we even compatible sexually as a species? After what we learned in Qerux, it seems unlikely. Was it more than just friendship between you and this woman Goku? Was it? Urgh! I don't care! I don't care what you two did! _

Her eyes continued to follow Saffra's gestures and facial expressions as she spoke. She gritted her teeth at how close the two of them seemed to be, speaking in hushed tones, like they were conspiring about something. She wasn't interested at all in what he did, not anymore. So what if she'd been on the verge of letting Goku sex her senseless by the pool? It was just a temporary lapse in judgment. It didn't mean a damn thing, it didn't!

"So what do you think Chi? You think he'll agree?" Goku turned to her

"Huh? Agree? Who?" She blinked in confusion, flushing with embarrassment at having spaced out completely. She had no idea what he was talking about. The last thing she'd heard was 'Shaman'.

"Huh?" Goku stared at her. "Sekei Chi, weren't you listening?" His eyes took on that cute, clueless and adorable glint. She had to blink rapidly to clear the sudden memory of how he had looked at her with dark passion-filled eyes earlier in the pool-room when they were-, "I was just telling Saf that Sekei hasn't been the same since the attack on Amethyst. He's not coping at all, and I think the spirit-walker can help him." Was Goku's explanation.

"Spirit…Walker?" Okay, so she had clearly missed out on a big chunk of this conversation. What on earth was a spirit walker?

"Yes, he's one of our most esteemed healers." Saffra clarified in that warm tone of hers.

"Um, he's not sick. I think he's just a bit traumatized by what happened to him. He doesn't need a doctor, I mean, healer, he probably needs psychological therapy of some sort." Chichi explained.

"An ailment of the mind," Saffra elaborated, "is only but a symptom of the larger picture – a disturbed and fractured spirit." Chichi watched her elegant lean hands as they made an unfamiliar gesture. She assumed that the gesture was a symbol for 'spirit' on their planet. "If your friend is troubled, the Shaman will exorcise whatever demons are haunting him." Saffra closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "His spirit will be cleansed." She breathed out languorously like she had just undergone a long session of yoga. "Do not worry Princess Chichi, if you can convince him to make the trip to the spirit-donga, he'll come out as good as new." Saffra smiled that warm assuring smile of hers.

It made Chichi resentful that it made her feel at ease, especially since it was obvious that it had the same effect on Goku. She hated that she could find no fault with Saffra. She was beautiful, composed, good-natured and quietly humorous.

"What do you think Chi? You'll speak to him, about the spirit-donga?" Goku turned his attention back to her.

"Well, if it'll help him, I guess I could talk to him. What does it entail exactly?" Chichi addressed the taller woman.

"A spirit-walk? Well, I'm just a biological healer myself. I primarily use science and physiology for my craft, so I cannot pretend to know how the spirit world is mastered" Saffra said with humility, "but basically, the shaman employs some trance inducing techniques to incite several visionary quests. At the end of the spirit-walk, the patient will have confronted and overcome all his psychological ailments physically."

Chichi just blinked at that explanation. "I don't understand."

"The Shaman will first administer mutis or medicines to make the patient reach a state of deliria. Typically the patient will experience a lot of physical discomforts like hallucinations, nausea, the shakes and most importantly sweat. It is through this sweat that one's troubles are manifested physically by the powers of the spirit-donga." Saffra tried to be more specific

"I'm sorry Saffra, but that sounds more like a drug trip gone wrong than a form of therapy." Chichi contested as she made a face.

"Chi, it's not like that!" Goku protested heatedly. He now knew exactly what a 'drug-trip-gone-wrong' meant. He had seen it all in her memories. Gohan Jr had been an incredibly difficult and rebellious teenager. He had given the family hell with his drug problem. With his super-human powers, his fits of anger and violence had been very difficult to hide or control. Mr Satan had had to use his influence on more than one occasion to make certain things 'disappear'. "It's not like that Chi, I promise you, spirit walking works, trust me." Goku implored her.

"I believe you," Chichi sighed. "I just don't understand it that's all."

"In time, you will." Saffra assured her with a gentle touch on her shoulder.

"I guess I'll speak to Sekei about it then. But I can't guarantee that he'll listen." Chichi said truthfully. More and more, with each passing day, Sekei had just retreated further and further into himself. Chichi didn't understand it, she knew he'd been through a lot while crystallized, it must have been awful for him to be trapped in his own body like a corpse, unable to move, unable to do anything at all. But…he was fine now, it had been weeks even. Why couldn't he just snap out of it? Goku had.

"Good. I'll journey to the Circle and speak to the Shaman about taking on your friend as a new patient. You and the princess can go ahead and prepare him Goku. Shall we meet at the donga later?" Saffra enquired.

"Yep!" Goku chirped happily.

"Good," Saffra smiled, squeezing Goku's hand affectionately. Chichi watched quietly as Goku squeezed back, flashing Saffra a beautiful smile.

…

The screaming from inside the donga was a bit on the terrifying side. It sounded more like a torture chamber than an alleged therapeutic environment. It didn't help that it looked like a haunted shaft or canyon either.

"Gohan, I don't know about this. Dr Doi sounds like he's suffering in there." Videl nervously paced outside the dark, rocky and fog-filled entrance.

"Um..." What could he say? Videl was right. It didn't sound good to his ears either. What kind of 'therapy' made a grown man break out in terror like that? Gohan hated to question his father's judgment, but with the things his mom had said about him remembering being a saiyan, he wondered if-

"Are you listening? Gohan, do something!" Videl demanded, unable to bear one more cry for help from the astronaut.

Gohan gulped, biting down on his lip. He had to have faith in his father, no matter what."Dad said-"

"I know what he said, but Gohan, Dr Doi didn't even want to be in there in the first place. He didn't give his consent. It was wrong of you guys to knock him out and abandon him in there with that creepy Shaman. Hello, has he ever heard of a bath?" Videl made a disgusted face. "We should at least go inside and check on him." She grabbed him by the arm and attempted to drag him inside the Donga.

"Videl, we can't. You heard Saffra, only the Shaman and the patient are allowed inside." Gohan protested.

"Fine." She uttered through clenched teeth. "You stay, I'm going in to help." She turned her chin up and stepped into the fog. Enough people were suffering because of her back on earth, she wasn't about to stand by and let Dr Doi suffer unnecessarily, on top of everything he had already gone through.

"Stop." Gohan stood stubbornly in-front of her, blocking her path. He could hardly make out her features beneath that veil of white and grey fog, but he could tell she was annoyed if not angry with him. "You're not going in there Videl. It could be dangerous. I'll talk to dad, but you'll stay put."

The tell-tale twitch of her nostrils, the crease of her brow and the way her right foot tipped forward were clear indicators of the turn of her mood. "Is that an order, _sir_?" She narrowed her eyes at him. She would not stand to be ordered around, not by anyone, especially not by him.

"It's a request," Gohan softened his voice, dropping his shoulders.

"Denied." Her lips formed a straight line, as she side-stepped him and walked purposefully towards the smoky entrance.

"In that case," Gohan surprised her by phasing in right before her, "I re-phrase." He glared her down. The last time she had disobeyed the rules of a planet, she had suffered a horrible allergic reaction in the Mok territory of Qerux. He didn't know what dangers lurked in that donga, and he certainly didn't want Videl to have to find out.

As the two teens stood staring at each other, neither willing to back down, a short distance away, Goku and Saffra were having a similar problem with Chichi.

"How much longer Goku?" Chichi glared at him. She had agreed to bring Sekei here against his will because she had genuinely believed that it would help, but… all that screaming, something was wrong.

"I don't know Chi, everyone's different. He's not hurt or anything, he's just trapped in his vision quest, he'll be fine." Goku tried again to reassure her.

"HE DOES NOT SOUND FINE!" Chichi shrieked

"May I make a suggestion?" Saffra intervened. "Let's leave the area for a while. It could be hours or days before your friend comes out so-"

"WHAT?" Chichi couldn't believe what she was hearing!

"I suggest," Saffra continued calmly, as if she didn't hear her. "I suggest we all head back before the darkness finds us here. Goku," she placed her hand on his arm lightly "your old rooms are available for you and the princess if you wish to use them for the night. The boys can use Chimz's old rooms. What do you say?"

The last thing Chichi wanted to do was spend the night in this woman's house. It was probably perfect like her, and she didn't want it judging her. "We appreciate the offer but we're fine with the rooms we have on our ship." Chichi politely declined.

"Oh! About that, heh heh" Goku put up his index finger. "I told the guys that fixed my pod last time to go ahead and fix all them funny dents and stuff from the landing. We agreed with Gohan that Bulma'd be real mad if we came back with a banged up ship." Goku shrugged. "Vegeta was real pissed though, he just took off, don't know where he intends to sleep tonight."

"Great," Chichi muttered, now she _had_ to spend the night at Saffra's house. She could protest some more, but that would just be suspicious. "And Videl? Where will she sleep?"

"Not to worry princess, I'll set something up for her. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to rush to the market and get some supplies for tonight's feast." She smiled, turning to Goku. "I'm making baked pumies Goku, your favourite." She winked, just before she put two fingers to her forehead and promptly disappeared.

"Oh boy! Oh boy! Baked pumies, my favourite!" Goku practically hopped on his spot. "Yo! Gohan! Let's go son. We're all spending the night at Saffra's, she's making baked pumies!"

_Pumies schmumies_, Chichi sulked. She didn't know what these pumies were, but surely they weren't _that_ good. Besides, Goku's absolute favourite thing in the world was her volcano cake, not some stupid schumies.

…

"So this is where you lived." Chichi walked around the interior of the tent-like dwelling leisurely, touching a few things here and there.

"Yeah, this was my room, yeah." Goku looked around fondly. It was a life-time ago, but for a whole year, it had been his home.

"Is this real?" Chichi stared at what looked like a giant butterfly suspended about a meter down from the ceiling. The creature was flapping its large colourful wings rapidly, the motion creating an impressive breeze that cooled down the entire room. "Nuh, it's just a fan. It's very real looking though. Very pretty."

Goku strolled around and let his fingers linger on some of the statues lining the floor in decoration, remembering all the times little Chimz and little Laylai had fallen all around them laughing as they all played.

Chichi traced her hand on the draped fabrics that lined the dwelling from wall to wall as they flapped gently with the breeze. They were all sheer and extremely soft to the touch. It was lovely really, despite the impression it gave from the outside. Behind the sheer cascading drapes, she pressed her hand against the tough fabrics woven together to make the foundation of the 'walls'. They were all of rich textures and patterns, and felt surprisingly sturdy.

"Is this supposed to be the bed? It doesn't look very comfortable," she eyed the contraption on the floor doubtfully. It looked like a giant slab of thin metal.

"Heh heh, I know it doesn't look like much, yeah, but check this out," Goku grabbed her hand and pulled it down towards the slab. Her hand didn't even get half-way down when Chichi suddenly snatched it back and yelped when a sudden buzz jolted her fingertips. "What was that?" She held her hand back, staring down at something she couldn't see.

"Heh heh, it's like a shock right? That's the bed, watch," Goku just let his body flop backwards. Chichi was sure he was going to crash onto the slab with a loud thud, but an invisible force caught his fall. With his hands behind his head, he just lay there, feet scissored, grinning at her.

"Are you using your ki to float Goku?" She eyed him suspiciously and fingered the 'air' around him, surprised when her finger sank into something tangible.

"Nope, just lying down," he smirked and Chichi screamed. Goku had grabbed her wrist and flung her up into the air, she shut her eyes as she fell but...eep! Something soft and comfortable cushioned her fall, and it felt like it was vibrating too! "Oh my word!" She sat up and pressed her palms down on whatever invisible substance it was that was carrying her. Oh my, it was even bouncy. "What's this made of?" Chichi giggled, as she bounced her weight up and down the 'bed'.

"Don't know," Goku shrugged, "At first I thought it was magic, but they explained it to me with all these big science words. Woo!" He made a sweeping gesture over his head. "It all went straight over my head."

As Chichi continued to bounce giddily, Goku flipped himself to lie on his side, grinning as he kept his eyes on her breasts as they bounced up and down with her childish antics. Chichi didn't even notice him staring, she was too busy having a cheap thrill. This stuff was great, _a massage on the bounce,_ she giggled.

"This is great Goku, we should buy one of these. Can you imagine the twins? They'd be on this all day!" Goku smiled at the thought, albeit a bit sadly. He only knew the twins from her memories. They were stubborn little rascals, complete opposites of their father. He couldn't wait until all the grandkids were born again: Pan, Gohan Jr, and the twins. There was also Goten's two girls. Then the next generation of Son's consisted of Pan's son (the mother and son duo had nothing to do with the family ever since the fall out of the two saiyan families following the whole Trunks fiasco) and Gohan Jr's son. It was a miracle that Gohan Jr's son was born healthy, considering her drug-addict mom and dad. Pan had had to step in and raise him as her own. He had missed out on a lot in thirty-five years.

"We have a big space-ship now, capsules too. We can buy some of these and take them back home if you want. "He swung his legs down from the bed, stood up and offered her his hand to help her down.

"Uh-uh, no way! I'm never getting off this thing!" Chichi laughed, slapping his hand away. Instead of hopping off, she hopped to her feet and started jumping up and down the vibrating 'mattress'. Goku chuckled, staring at her.

"Whatever happened to rule number eight? No-jumping-on-the-bed?" He raised his brow. Chichi had many, many rules, and no-jumping-on-the-bed was one such rule, rule number eight if he remembered correctly. "Try enforcing that rule when you have a house full of saiyan grandkids running wild and loud in the house." She simply shrugged. Hey, she was really getting into this now, it was better than trying to bounce with old worn-out bones on the kids trampoline. She was as light as air! "Besides, who cares about rules, we're in space!" She made a dramatic flip and let herself flop back onto the mattress. She giggled childishly at the sensation of the vibrations gently massaging her back.

"Well, we have this room until Sekei comes out of therapy, so you ca-"

Ching. Ching. Ching

The hand chime sang, indicating that there was someone pulling on its string from the outside. Goku turned his head in the direction of the sound. "There's someone at the door. COME IN!" he invited enthusiastically, tilting his head to see who it was.

"Ntate Goku," Laylai walked in shyly. In her hands she held a large rectangular parcel wrapped elaborately in large multi-coloured leaves. "Ack! Ntate? Me? Why so formal? Come on, it's only me Laylai. I'm just Goku." He dismissed the formal address as he ruffled the girl's blue roots. Laylai dropped her chin and blushed at the gesture and the scene. She hadn't thought that Goku and the princess would be in bed already. She felt so silly and plain compared to this woman that had his heart. She could only be grateful that he would never know nor guess the silly romantic feelings she'd harbored for him as a little girl. Her eyes not quiet meeting his, she explained herself. "Um, I have to address you formally now. Mother says that since I'm getting my scales soon, I should act my age."

"Nuh, I don't care about all that, I'm still just Goku okay? Ntate makes me feel old and stiff, let's keep things young." He grinned at the girl. "You know Laylai, tall as you are now, you're still little Laylai to me," he beamed at her when she tried to hide the smile that broke out on her face. "Come in, say hi to Chichi." He stepped aside and let her through.

"Oh princess, I beg your pardon. I didn't mean to intrude on your time of rest." Timing, timing, timing! Laylai scolded herself.

"Hello Laylai, nice to see you again," Chichi greeted politely after she jumped off the bed to trying to look dignified. Laylai definitely took after her mom in the looks department. "I wasn't resting, not really. I was just trying the bed. Now, what's this you got here?" She eyed the package in the girl's hands.

"It's Goku's Litoro." Explained Laylai, and when Chichi looked puzzled, she looked to Goku to explain the concept to her.

"Um, its difficult to explain Chi, it's like a book, but each page doesn't really have words, more like…I don't know, images, like a movie thing, but not really." He really didn't know how to explain the concept since there was nothing like it on earth.

"Here Goku, all your memoirs from your spirit-walk. The shaman compiled them, and we kept it for you all this time." She extended her arms forward to offer him the package.

_Come again? Goku did that spirit-walk-thingy?_ Chichi stared at him in shock. He hadn't said a word about it this entire time! He'd said it would be helpful, but he never even hinted that he was talking from personal experience.

"Gee Laylai, I don't know. I don't think I wanna see them," he eyed the 'book' apprehensively.

"But it's yours Goku, you should keep it, even if you never re-walk your quests." She placed it in his reluctant arms and made a small curtsy. "Mom says the evening meal is ready, the other guests are already waiting."

…

The evening meal had been a great success, and though reluctant to eat the orange and fluffy looking 'pumies', Chichi had been unable to resist going for seconds once she had tasted them. The rest of Saffra's house was just as she'd imagined, beautiful and homely, with no hint of pretentious décor at all. It made Chichi burn with anger, knowing that while she had been back on earth, crying herself to sleep every-night, worried sick about him, Goku had been here, in this perfect 'dwelling', hosted by this goddess, eating her delicious pumies.

As soon as they had retreated to Goku's old rooms again, Chichi had wasted no time in throwing herself on the comfy bed and had bombarded him with questions about his 'spirit-walk'. She was aware that he had been injured from Namek, so she understood why he was cared for by a doctor like Saffra. But to her understanding, spirit-walking was meant for severe psychological disorders.

He was Goku for crying out loud, he didn't get mentally troubled, not in that way, did he?

"When I crash-landed here, I got sick." He brushed his fingers over the bumpy texture of the book.

"You mean injured," Chichi corrected.

"Yeah, that too. But I was sick." He stressed. "The space-pod I took, it was someone's from the Ginyu force, I'm not sure who, but I caught something in there, something bad." He rubbed his arms, his 'book' resting on his thighs. "The injuries from Namek and the crash-landing were bad, but the worst was that thing." He frowned in remembrance.

"You never told me you got sick," Chichi couldn't hide her concern even if she tried. It was evident in her voice, in her tone.

"You'd been through too much already Chi, and with me arriving to the news of the Androids and the heart virus, I just didn't wanna worry ya." He grabbed the book and opted to put it down.

"How long were you sick?" She wanted to know. For a couple that had been married for seventy years, there was a life-time of things they still didn't know about each other. It was disturbing, but it couldn't be helped, too much time apart.

"Weeks," was his bleak response. "Whatever it was, it made me see things and hear things that were not real. I don't remember the details but it was really feeding off my fears and all them worries I didn't even know I had inside. Okay, so some of them I knew and ignored, but some...," he shrugged "I had these nightmares that were so real, these real scary visions and stuff. Some were so clear they made me almost blow the planet up in anger." His brow creased, "especially since back then, I didn't have full control of the super-saiyan form."

He sounded so uncharacteristically bleak that Chichi felt bad for asking in the first place. She cursed the unbridled desire to hold and comfort him, but she cursed her curse and placed her hand over his. "It must have been awful Goku. Hallucinations are never a good thing. I can't believe I didn't know about this all this time. So this spirit-walker, he healed you?"

"Yeah, kinda. When I didn't get better, even after Saffra's medicines, the shaman told her that I needed to spirit-walk, that the disease I had, had affected more than just my body. I guess they must'a been real scared for their planet, with all them things I was seeing, I destroyed a lotta'stuff. I nearly blew them all up, myself as well." He hung his head

Chichi widened her eyes. She knew from his body language that he still felt guilty about whatever damage he must have unwittingly caused. What could he have seen that was so bad as to push him into a rage that made the Yardranians fear for the safety of their planet? "It wasn't your fault Goku, you were sick," she squeezed his hand. Now she really wanted to know what he'd seen.

"Yeah, I know. Just happy I didn't really hurt anyone, would have been real bad."

"So that's why you had to pay all those jewels to the guardians," she finally understood what they'd meant about him destroying stuff. She had assumed that the destruction was through negligent training practices, knowing Goku. "What did you see Goku? Was it the same as what you saw when you had the heart virus? Was it Freeza coming back and killing everyone? Blowing up the earth?" She really wanted to know, this was something they should have shared as husband and wife. She should have been the one to nurse and comfort him through it, not _Saffra_.

"That's the thing with spirit-walking Chi, once the Shaman helps you conquer your demons, you come out clean, you don't even remember them scary and upsetting things."

"So…you don't remember?" she asked incredulously, a bit disappointed as well. She wanted to know!

"Nope. That's why I don't want this book. They'll all be in here, them scary things. But none of them were real, so…If I turn the pages and start re-walking them…gosh…what if they scare me all over again? Nuh, it's not worth it."

"I guess you have a point. Especially if they really come to life vividly like you guys say they do. It would be like watching a movie of your worst nightmares or worse."

"Yeah, I already have enough bad stuff in my head from remembering stuff about being young and stuff. I don't want more bad stuff, especially stuff that wasn't even real." He stood up and placed the book away on a table. "I'd destroy it, but I know the Shaman would feel it, an he'd be insulted. So I'll keep it, but I'll never turn those pages and re-walk, it's just not worth it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It's just not worth it." Chichi agreed.

…

"Videl," Gohan called out uncertainly into the darkness. He had just crept into her rooms, standing behind the heavy drapes, squinting his eyes to where she lay. He had agonized about what to do for close to two full hours, tossing and turning in the room he shared with Goten and Trunks. He desperately wanted to be in the same bed as her tonight, like they were accustomed to doing on the ship, but with the silence that had stretched between them through dinner, he wasn't sure if she was still mad about the donga incident.

"I almost fell asleep waiting-up for you," came the tired response from the bundle on the bed. Gohan sighed in relief and tip-toed in. "Hi," he crawled in and wrapped his arms around her. "I wasn't sure that I'd be welcome tonight," he gathered her up and let her rest her head on his chest.

"Silly boy," Videl snuggled up to him and closed her eyes. "These beds are amazing," she said absently, before drifting off to sleep.

...

This was by far the most comfortable bed she had ever slept in, and yet, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

How could she, when she desperately wanted to know?

Goku was the most care-free spirit in the universe. What could have possibly haunted him so fiercely and for so long as to warrant him taking one of those vision quest thingies? As far as she knew, the only problems that really troubled her husband were the kind that needed fists to resolve. No, she couldn't sleep, not while the details of Goku's spirit-walks lay calling to her on the loosely unwrapped package on the table. She cast her eyes sideways at him. He was sprawled out on the vibro-bed quietly snoring, he wouldn't even know that she'd read the thing.

As sneaky as a cockroach, she crept out of bed and grabbed the book off the table. On tip-toe, she slipped out of his rooms and traipsed down to the nearest bathroom. She tied back the sash of the drape acting as a door, and sat on the toilet seat. It was very comfortable, made out of something similar to the bed. It was all very cushy and nice. Clearly these yardranias were into comfort.

Her heart thumping in her stomach like a loud hip-hop beat; she took a deep breath and peeled off the rest of the packaging. Goku had said that the book didn't exactly contain words so she wondered just how this 'reading' worked. The cover felt rough and course like a tapestry against her fingers, but she didn't stop to admire the fine detail that had gone into weaving it; she simply braced herself and turned a page. She absolutely had to know what was between those sheets.

She didn't know what she had been expecting, but it certainly wasn't this. From the fine leaflets of the first page, it started as a singular swirl of grey smoke coiling its way to the ceiling. As her eyes stared at it in fascination, she was dumbfounded when she saw it twist and twirl into shapes, and not just any shapes – but live figures, floating in weightless form like a typical representation of a ghost.

The smoky images grew and multiplied, filling and transforming the bathroom into the scene of the first vision and somehow she felt like she was being lifted right off the toilet-seat and floating leisurely alongside them. She felt weightless and supple, as if she wasn't made out of matter, but of pure air particles. It was beyond the experience of reading from a book or watching from a screen. It was more a case of being the ink staining the pages and the pixels filling up the screen. She wasn't just reading or watching Goku's spirit-walk, she was part of it, re-walking it right alongside him.

She could feel a strong tug on her weightless essence; something was pulling her being into his. Her instinct was to resist the pull and stay separate and independent from him, but her heart wanted to be as close as possible. She let herself go and allowed herself to fully intertwine with his ghost like spirit form, as if they were one person. She felt a blinding pain in her head when it happened, as if she was being split apart by something powerful, but despite this, she drew herself closer and closer into him. She didn't stop until she didn't know where he began and where she ended. She was Chichi, but yet, she was Goku.

His heart was in his throat as he flew over the earth in a panic. Everywhere he looked, he found it empty, there was no life, just smoke and rubble and an eerie silence that promised a devastating tale.

He flew over Capsule Corp. and Kame Island. He flew to Korin's tower and made a pit-stop to the Lookout. He flew over each inch of the planet, praying to find some semblance of life. She was a part of him, so she felt his fear and especially his reluctance to check their home for signs of life. She was a part of him so she read his heart and his mind. Should he arrive at home to find that his wife and son were also gone, he just knew that he'd combust from the inside out in agony, fueled by his own untamed monstrous power. And yet, he had to press on, he had to fly to Mt Paozu and check on his family.

She was a part of him so she felt his nausea and the tightening in his chest when he landed softly before their house. She too, was afraid to check inside the household for fear of what he might find. Certainly she didn't expect to find Vegeta of all people calmly lounging against their wall; shrouded by an unfamiliar and surreal darkness, with the visible blood of the billions of earthlings he had killed staining his hands.

"What have you done Vegeta?" Goku could barely hear his own voice escape between his clenched teeth. The fierce thrumming of his heart was too loud and raw in his ears.

"What you were meant to have done eighteen years ago, I simply completed your mission." Came the nonchalant response from the saiyan prince.

Taking a threatening step towards the shorter saiyan, Goku seethed. "We fought side by side against Freeza on Namek, how could you do it Vegeta?" he trembled. Chichi felt the unfamiliar emotion of hate brew and bridle inside him. She felt him allow and release a mounting anger that made her tremble from its intensity. It was so foreign and against his nature. "How could you?"

"How could I? How could _you_ Kakarot?" Vegeta sneered at him. "_You_ let them wish me back to life, and then _you_ let them wish me here to earth, like I was some harmless bug, nothing to be feared." He spat out in contempt as he came to stand right before Goku. "I am the prince of all saiyans, I am to be feared. It took me a few months of heavy training to get stronger than Piccolo, but I did it. Oh yes, I did it. Your blue haired friend and her father built me a gravity room, just like the one you used to train in on your trip to Namek. Once I reclaimed my tittle and became the strongest, there was no stopping my plans. Without the great _Goku_ to save them, it was easy pickings. I killed the green bean who had been a threat and did away with the rest of the miserable people of this planet."

Chichi felt the tightening in Goku's throat as his adams apple moved up and down. Vegeta was a monster, and he should have stopped him. "Freeza was right to kill you as he did. You're worse than him; you're a monster." Goku inhaled sharply, trying to keep that rage that wanted to burst out of him in check. "I'm going to kill you Vegeta," he said plainly, "and then I'm going to wish everyone you killed, back to life, back to earth where they belong."

A loud boisterous laugh filled the mountain area as the only response from the saiyan prince. He sounded genuinely amused and highly entertained. "Oh, yeah, about that," Vegeta smirked, "I killed off the Namekian refugees too. Every last one of them. There is no undoing death anymore Kakarot, all sets of dragonballs are gone."

Somewhere in her subconscious, Chichi knew that it wasn't real, that it was just a bad hallucination that Goku had had from that mysterious sickness, but despite that, the sheer horror that he felt at Vegeta's confession overshadowed her logic. It was all encompassing, all consuming, making her sick in her soul, just as it was doing to Goku.

_No dragonballs?_ He couldn't breathe, he just couldn't breathe. She was a part of him, her essence swirling with his own, so she felt his inability to think or function. It was too much for him, and so it was too much for her.

"They're all gone Kakarot"

"N-No..." Goku sank to his knees, refusing to believe what he was seeing, what he was hearing.

"You had the chance to kill me, as you did Raditz." Vegeta towered over him, "look at you, the legendary super-saiyan." Vegeta glared at him in contempt. Goku glanced at himself and realized that he had somehow become a super-saiyan without realizing it. What good was it? What good was all this power if he was too late to save the one thing that really mattered – the earth and its people.

"Tell me Kakarot, how does it feel? You have the power of a legend in your finger-tips, and its all for nothing. Everything that ever mattered, gone."

Chichi felt it as Goku's mounting anger diminished, giving way to a hopelessness and despair that made her cry. She saw the hole in him, the emptiness, the dark empty vacuum. She wanted to reach out to him and tell him that it was just a hallucination, that the earth was safe, that she wasn't dead, and neither was Gohan. She wanted to see fire in his eyes, she wanted to see that battle instinct, that fight that she knew he had. Not defeated and despair, it was too against his nature, and too painful for her to watch. "G-Gohan...C-C." He could barely get the words out. He had failed them, and now they were gone, killed. And there was no way to bring them back.

"Your son put up a good fight, he would have made a good saiyan. You should be proud of him." Vegeta spoke softly, his voice hinting that he might have actually regretted killing off one of his own.

"You killed them, you killed them all." Goku covered his face with his hands. Gone. They were all gone. What did he have now? What did he have left to fight for now?

"Well, not _all_." Vegeta smirked, "I couldn't exactly pass up the opportunity to have a strong son now could I? The saiyan race _must_ continue."

"W-What are you, what are you saying?" a small beat of hope began to beat in Goku as he moved his hands from his face to stare suspiciously up at the monster before him.

"Woman, come out here." Vegeta called out to the darkness behind him in response to Goku's question. And as a lone figure of a familiar dark-haired woman stepped out of the shadows, her eyes sunken and hollow, her belly heavily swollen and protruding, Goku forgot his despondency as an immediate hot rage began to consume him cell by cell from the inside out.

"She gave me a hard time at first, but I soon broke her in with my fists. She's lovely Kakarot, mating her was the only smart thing you did on this planet. She will give me strong sons"

"No..." Goku croaked, the world beginning to tremble beneath him. The thundering in his ears intensified until he went completely deaf. He couldn't hear, he couldn't see, he couldn't think. He was suffocating, unable to function from the burn of the hot piece of coal burning its way through his throat. Not his wife, not his Chichi, anything but this. "Chichi?" It was a plea for her to deny what he had failed to protect her from.

The dark discolored marks along her arms and neck were screaming in testament to his failure to protect her from a fate worse than death. Oh, if only it was back in the days when he didn't know what that swollen belly meant, if only. "Chichi?" He tried to take a step in her direction, but she took a step back with her hand supporting her enormous stomach and disappeared back into the darkness.

"You let him do this to me Goku," her empty voice echoed all around him, "He killed our son, he was everything to me, and when he died, I...I lost the will to keep fighting him. WHERE WERE YOU?" The accusation shrouded him like a poisonous gas.

"I...I..." He wanted so badly to explain himself. He never thought that Vegeta would turn out this way. And on the small chance that he did, Piccolo was supposed to stop him! Piccolo had been much stronger than Vegeta on Namek. He had been able to take on Freeza's transformations. If Vegeta had turned out to be bad, if wishing him back to life and to earth had backfired, then Piccolo would have been more than capable of stopping him. Damn it! He had thought it through; he wouldn't have risked it if he hadn't!

Chichi felt sick. There was no other way to describe it. The thought of being beaten down and forced to do…_that_…with Vegeta, and then conceiving from it, it terrified and sickened her worse than anything that had ever happened to her in her ninety years. It was unbearable. She could feel the weight of the baby weighing her down, the pain of the bruises on her skin.

"She's mine now Kakarot, go back to your friends on Yardrat. There's nothing left for you here." Vegeta dismissed him as his ghost-like form began to fizzle and fade.

In reality she was still sitting on the toilet seat, watching this vision play out from the magical pages of the book, but to her, she was but a swirl of grey smoke, infused and mingled with his, breath for breath, soul for soul. So when it happened, she felt it. The binds that held his sanity together snapped, flaying wildly in uncontrollable dangerous sparks. The blood cursing through him boiled and erupted like hot lava. He was burning up from the inside and he couldn't do anything to control it, he was going to explode from rage and take the whole universe with him.

It was bad enough that he had killed everyone on the planet, but to have done what he had done to Chichi? To have touched his wife in that manner was unforgivable. Not Chichi, not his Chichi. Not the one person that he… "ARHHH!" An animalistic cry filled the heavens as he lunged himself at Vegeta's fading form in fury. He had given him so many chances and on top of all his crimes, he had done the unforgivable. He had subdued, abused and violated his wife, and no amount of goodness could ever forgive such as thing.

Chichi screamed as her intertwined being felt the hot spray of blood from Vegata's limbs drench her skin when Goku literally tore him apart, limb for limb. The world was smoking and shaking in his roar, and Chichi felt his-

"Chichi!" Goku yelled at her as he flung the bathroom drape open. He saw how her eyes were glazed over, and frozen in terror and quickly snapped the book before her shut. The vision disappeared and Chichi suddenly felt as heavy as lead as all the matter and weight returned to her limbs. It was all too much for her, the pain from spirit-walking alongside Goku was still too raw, the horror of being pregnant with Vegeta's child too real. She collapsed in his arms, with tears spilling and staining her face.

…

An incessant whimsical flap and a bright light made her open her eyes. She shot up, with her hand on her stomach, sighing in relief at its firm, toned and most importantly _flat_ feel. Big aqua-blue eyes, round as a shiny marble stared back at her from a serene and lovely face.

"Saffra, what's going on?" her voice sounded hoarse to her ears. She felt damp, and weird.

"I was just giving you your sponge bath." Said Saffra as she placed what looked like a blue sponge inside a silver basin. "It's good to see that you're finally awake." Saffra offered a warm smile, her tone quiet and soft. Chichi glanced down at herself to discover that she was just in a robe. She could tell that she wasn't wearing anything inside it. Hang on now, this was definitely not what she'd had on last night. "W-Where's Goku?" she asked as she sat up.

"He's probably out talking to the shaman about your condition. You've been out with a fever for a week now. Your family has been very worried."

"A WEEK!" she bolted upright.

"Please princess," Saffra pushed her back down. "It was a dangerous thing, infusing yourself with Goku's questial spirit." Saffra held a device resembling an eye over her forehead.

"Infusing myself?" Chichi didn't understand

"Your temperature seems normal, thank goodness. Please, try to lie down and relax, I will send for your family." She closed the 'eye' and placed it back in a container as she rose to her feet. "They have all been worried sick about your condition, even your friend Sekei."

"The spirit-donga…"

"He's been out for three days. He's perfectly fine, just worried for you." Saffra said upon her exit.

"Saffra," Chichi called her name just before she disappeared behind the drapes. She swallowed, it was now or never.

"Yes?" came the quiet response from slightly stiffening shoulders.

"Are you in-love with my husband?" there, she'd said it.

"Are _you_?" Saffra turned around to face her.

"Excuse me?"

"Are _you?_ However he may have wronged you, you will only wrong yourself if you do not allow him to make amends."

"Great," Chichi muttered bitterly. "He couldn't wait to come running to you with our marital problems."

She swung her legs on the ground and instantly had to support her weight by holding on to the table. "You know nothing about it," She felt a bit shaky, like her body was in its true ninety year old form. "Even if he makes 'amends' today, he's Goku. I've been married to him for seventy years; I know him, he'll inevitably wrong me again." Her skin was clammy to the touch, and despite Saffra's efforts at a sponge-bath, she felt sticky and dirty. "So please, just answer my question. What happened between you and my husband ten years ago?"

Saffra stared long and hard at her before she began to speak. "I wanted him to stay with us. The children, they were crazy about him. He was so full of life and laughter, it was as if-" she suddenly snapped her mouth shut. She had been about to go down memory lane when she saw the look on Chichi's face. It spoke volumes for someone who allegedly wished to end her marriage. She swallowed, and lifted her chin to look Chichi straight in the eye. She would not be deterred by the earthlings' frightening demeanor. It was time to get all this off her chest.

"Did I fall in-love with him? Yes. I suppose I did." She admitted. "Did I try to do something about it? Did I ever try to seduce him? Yes, once." She confessed without batting an eyelid, "but Goku," she smiled wistfully, shaking her head. "He didn't even notice."

Chichi gripped the table harder and willed herself not to pounce. Did Saffra have no shame? How could she admit it? Didn't anyone ever tell her that a lie was sometimes kinder? Didn't they?

"One night I even tried the direct approach." Saffra continued her tale. "There was a storm outside, they are rare, but when they come, they come with a vengeance. I used it as an excuse to climb into his bed. Storms terrify me, I lied." A small smile graced her lean face as she recalled her theatrics that night, her smile came at the same time that Chichi's cheeks began to dimple in anger. "Goku didn't suspect anything; he just let me snuggle up to him while we talked. 'You smell nice', he told me." Saffra said with a dreamy smile, and Chichi realized that she was about to commit murder on Yardrat. "I was so encouraged by that statement that I immediately slipped my hand to his thigh." She sighed, closing her eyes in remembrance, completely missing the fact that Chichi had taken an unsteady step in her direction.

_"Whoa! Saffra!" Goku practically jumped at the sensation. "Careful with your hands!" he warned with huge eyes as he gripped her wrist and moved her hand up to a safe zone. "You might accidentally touch me in Chichi's place, and then I'd feel real bad cause she said we was only to touch below the waist together." Goku explained innocently, and Saffra was about to get less subtle with her intentions when Goku just kept talking."I guess, before your husband left, you guys must'a touched below the waist as well." He said, nudging her conspiratorially as he continued to talk conversationally. Saffra's mood soured at the mention of her bum of a husband."I guess, you must miss him, like I miss Chichi." He turned to lie flat on his back, allowing Saffra's head to rest on his chest like a pillow while he crossed his arms at the back of his head, staring at the butterfly-fan as it rapidly flapped its wings, creating a wonderful breeze. "It's weird isn't it? When I'm lying next to Chichi, I get this funny feeling in my stomach you know, it's like I'm hungry, but I'm not. It's like I'm thirsty, but I'm not, it's like a thousand pumies are dancing around in front of me with their great smell, begging me to eat them." He sighed, and so did Saffra, dejectedly. Would he just shut-up about this damn Chichi! She was trying to seduce him here! "I tell ya Saf, once I master IT and get home, it's gonna be the best." He grinned, "It's still nice to lie here with you though, even without all those nice feelings I get when I'm with Chichi. Hey, it's like when I was a kid, and I used to sleep with my grandpa!" he beamed, draping his arm over the woman on his chest. _

After hearing her confession, Chichi let Saffra make her leave without saying a word. She couldn't help it if she couldn't help the smile on her face, she still felt clammy, but she damn if she didn't feel lighter than when she'd just woken up.

Yep, a shower was definitely in-order.

…

She stood before the mirror and stared at her reflection, it was still surprising to see, but no longer shocking. She was getting used to life without wrinkles and grey hair. She smiled at herself as she ran a hand through her short locks and instantly jumped in fright when an image of a pregnant ghost with discolored and bruised skin appeared behind her reflection. Shutting her eyes, she took a deep breath and tried again.

It was just her, no one else.

Slowly she peeled the robe open and let it fall to the floor. Her skin was taught and perfect, no bruising, no discoloration. The bathing chamber was huge, it was more like a sauna than a shower. She turned on the taps and sat down on the hard reverse-domed surface. The spray of water attacked her from all angles in a firm spray, cleaning away the feel of red hot sticky blood that had drenched her from Vegeta's limbs. She closed her eyes and sighed.

She had felt his feelings as if they were her own.

_Oh Goku_

_…_

**_That's the chapter you guys! I hope you had fun reading it_**.

**Pixelqueen: **you don't like a playfull goku and chichi? *pouts* lol, thanks for the review! And yeah, at least six weeks had passed since their last planet, so things had mellowed down somewhat.

**Bouque:** thank you so much for the review. I'm so happy that you found, read and enjoyed the story. I hope you liked the tid-bits in this chapter. And aw, poor Saffra L

**Son Goshen:** because that's the way it always is with them, lovely when it lasts, but ultimately sad. It just breaks my heart too. L

**Saiyanivy****:** naughty, naughty saiyanivy!

**Omegaru:**thank you so much for your review. I hope reading this was fun as well.

**Serina Tsuki: **"Go sit somewhere Saffra" LMAO! Heh heh heh, yeah, they were really, really, REALLY CLOSE. DAMN IT!

**Collision:** glad you enjoyed it. thanks for the review.

**Kiara: **here you go Kiara, waaaay before Christmas. I hope you had some fun reading this chapter, and thank you so much for your review.

**SS4****:** yeah it is. Anger is very soul consuming. It takes up so much effort. I always find that laughter is a lot easier. Hah hah, Kakarot! Yes it did, it really traumatized him! But he's out of the donga now, let the fun times roll! Heh heh heh! Yeah, they looked so ugly with their shriveled up faces and stuff, but of course, naughty me created more yardranians. Heh heh heh

**Gokuandchichiforever:** the party was great. Though I ate too much, eep! It's so nice when Goku and Chichi aren't mad at each other. Hope you had fun with this chapter and its Saffra madness. Thanks for the review!

**Kyra**: Hi Kyra. Yeah. It was sweet, the way it should always be between Goku and Chihi :D Hope you enjoyed bits from this chapter as well. Thank you for the review Kyra!

**Ninjapuppies:** heh heh heh, glad your still enjoying it. thirty-five years is a long time to be alone. Chichi would be a fool to not consider it carefully. Thanks for the review.

**Xxteddyxxgirl: **glad you liked it. thanks for the review and hope you enjoyed this last chapter.

**SierraLarson:** heh heh heh, Chichi also had to feel the pangs of jelousy at some point. So she can prepare herself for how she'll feel if she really goes through with leaving him, lol, what do you think? You think she can take seeing goku with another woman? Thanks for the review Sierra, and I'll definitely update it. Just let me get out of this Goku craze I seem to be under these days.

**Krnoth**: LOL, I'll be she could! Thank you for the review!


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Goku x Chichi, Clark x Lana, Soul x Maka, Lafayette x Jesus, I just love them all to bits and pieces.

Chapter 16

…

Goku cringed as he tossed the murky contents of the overturned shell down his throat. He grimaced, his smooth skin crinkling, as the vile taste of the muti travelled intrusively down his throat. "A bit of sugar would make this a lot better," he complained.

How he hated this.

"Sugar would alter it into something else," the shaman spoke quietly as he inched closer and closer to the earth raised saiyan. Goku crinkled his nose as the smell of stale sweat assailed his nostrils, but the Shaman didn't seem to notice. He was too busy watching and waiting for the muti to settle inside the saiyan and begin its work. He continued to peruse Goku's features, humming quietly and touching his skin to assess the progress. Finally, after a few minutes, he saw the beginnings of some outward signs.

Satisfied, the shaman placed the tip of his curved nail by Goku's forehead. He held it patiently there, watching as sweat began to brim from his pores. Expertly, he caught the first bead of sweat as it made its appearance and carefully carried it forward in the curvature of his long nail.

"Whoa!" Goku inched away from him in relief, now that the sweat gathering was complete. "If Chichi were here, she'd make you bathe," Goku used two fingers to pinch his nose, while his other hand fanned his face against the heat and torturous smell. It didn't help. The donga was mucky and murky, and the shaman stank. It was a thousand times worse for him with his sensitive nose, especially when the shaman came as close to him as he had come just now.

"Full of insults today I see." The shaman commented dryly as Goku watched him carefully drop his sweat into the clay pot by his feet. They both pulled back when a white vapour erupted from the pot, forming a ghost like figure in Goku's image. "No. I'm not insulting, I'm just saying. You kinda smell, that's all." Goku shrugged.

"You know as well as I do that sweat is the physical manifestation of all spirit-ju." The shaman spoke as he reached into the brown sac tied around his waist, pulling out some nutty and course substance from it. "I did not choose this calling Son Goku, I just answered it." The shaman spoke as he twirled said substance in his clawed fingers, handing it over for Goku to chew. "You know, before I got my scales, I used to dream of a beautiful pink woman with rare golden scales to settle down with." He spoke conversationally as he continued to prepare for the ritual. On his part, Goku wore a very disgusted face as his teeth crunched down on the crunchy substance. "I had my heart set on three children, one male and two females. Imagine my disappointment when I finally got my scales, and they turned out to be blue instead of green." He shook his head and sighed, as if the disappointment was still fresh. "I certainly didn't choose to be inhabited by the great-spirit either, but it seems, being infertile was not to be my only curse. Living with the smell of sweat is simply part of the package. Anyone who thinks they can have it all is a fool, like you. Sacrifices always have to be made, it's the order of the universe." He spoke absently as he pulled out a small white egg from his sac. He punctured its thin shell with his claw-like nail and let the slimy yellow and white contents splatter before him.

Goku briefly wondered if that order was fair. It seemed to him, that his family was always the one burdened with order of 'sacrifce'. Ordinarily he didn't dwell on such thoughts, but he could really feel it now; the muti was taking its toll on his mind and body. He often didn't remember it after, but he always delved into a philosophical conversation with himself at this point – short lived as it was. His temperature was shooting up and he could feel himself sweating from practically every pore. The donga was dark, but his eyes were usually quiet good, but now, as the muti continued to disperse to every corner and crevice inside him, affecting the physical, the mental and the spiritual, Goku could barely make out the figure of the shaman, even though he was sitting right in-front of him.

The shaman reached into his sac again and brought out a hand-full of thin and short bones and tossed them at the egg. He then pulled out a long feather and grasped its quill like a pen. Working quickly, he began to smear the egg around, humming, mixing and watching intently as it combined with the bones in one slimy mess. He scrunched up his nose and leaned forward, his bare back rippling with taught pink muscle. The blue scales that littered down his spine glistening in the play of light. He cocked back and spat in the slimy combination and invited Goku to do the same.

Goku sighed and wiped his brow, he was bordering on deliria with a strong case of fever. He felt hot and flustered. He wished he could shed a layer of clothing, but as it was, all he had on him was the skin on his back. He literally had nothing else to take off but his shorts.

He had been going through this ritual all week – trying to call out Chichi's spirit from the infusion fever. So far, her spirit hadn't answered, and with each passing day, he grew more and more desperate, as his panic stricken kids desperately looked to him to pull her out. Mimicking the shaman, he cocked back as well, his own larger and broader muscles tensing, before he spat into the mixture. Wiping his mouth, he pulled back to watch the spirit-walker finalize the muti by pouring a fine black powder over it. Goku knew the routine well by now, without any prompting from the shaman, he closed his eyes and scooped up a hand-full of the stuff and began to smear it all around his chest. He rubbed circles into himself, faster and harder. He could feel the topical effects pouring into him through his pores.

The spirit-walker began to sing, all the while stirring vigorously with the quail on what remained of the mixture on the floor. Goku began to feel himself slipping, while the white vapour that was his spirit-form began to sway, showing signs of life, as it absorbed into itself what was left of his consciousness.

An image began to form on the slimy surface of the rock, it was no longer egg, spit and bones, it metarmophisized into a familiar scenario and Goku's spirit dove straight into it – he had to find her and call her out _today. _It had been seven days since she'd snuck to the bathroom and opened his book, seven days since he'd surprise her, slamming the book shut, killing the vision without realizing that she hadn't fully come back. It had been seven days since he'd watched her collapse in his arms, her tear streaked face haunting him with its pale suspended animation.

He hated this.

He knew it wasn't real, but he hated it all the same.

He flew to his house to find the familiar scene of Vegeta lounging around with blood on his hands. The saiyan prince looked particularly sinister with the shroud of cold darkness behind him. On his first try, Goku had tried to engage him in words, and by the time he'd realized that this version of Vegeta could not be reasoned with, his time in the vision quest had expired and he'd woken up in the donga with Chichi still trapped in the infusion fever. The second day, he had tried to just push past the saiyan prince, reminding himself that none of it was real. Vegeta's fist across his cheek had felt pretty damn real though, and by the time their brawl had ended, his time inside the spirit-walk had expired, again. On the third day, he had knocked Vegeta out and stepped into the darkness behind him to try and find Chichi, but he hadn't been able to. He had made it to the darkness that she'd stepped out of, but he hadn't been able to see or sense her. He'd called her name a thousand times with no response, until, inevitably, his time had expired. Day four up to six had gone a bit differently, but still just as uselessly.

Today, he was completely out of patience. He had dealt with this vision too many times in the past few days, and he was plain sick of seeing it. He just went straight for the kill, one blast, and the saiyan prince was history.

He stepped into the darkness where it should have been their living room and tried to adjust his eyes. "Chichi, it's me. I've come to get you." He held his breath. Willing her to answer.

Silence.

"Chi, please. You have to show yourself, I only have a few minutes, and then I'll have to wait another full day before I can come back. Please Chi, I know you're there."

Silence.

He gritted his teeth. He was getting nowhere with this approach. His body expelled the muti's at least a hundred times faster than the normal yardranian or human. The other species could stay in this trance for hours, where as he could only manage a few minutes at a time. This was the sixth day, he couldn't fail her again. He needed her to get better; it was killing him that she was in this predicament in the first place.

He took a few steps forward, but the darkness only increased, making him feel cold. "I'm begging you Chi, I can't sense you in this place. You have to speak up so I can find you!" he was getting desperate now, time was running out.

Silence.

He could feel himself filing up with particles of matter, he was losing his weightlessness, he was running out of time. What could he say to her to get her to talk, if she could just talk, he'd be able to hone in on her.

"Vegeta's dead Chichi. He's gone, he can't hurt you anymore, please, say something so I can come and get you."

Silence

"CHICHI!"

Silence.

He was running out of time. Come on, there had to be something he could say to her to get her to respond. "Gohan's waiting to see his mother outside; don't you want to see him?"

This had to work, he had no other cards up his sleeve.

"G-Gohan? " Came the quiet sob. "He's d-dead, that barbarian killed him, he's gone Goku. I can't let you see me, not like this. Go away, you're too late, you're too-"

"Gotcha!" Her voice led him straight to her hiding place. He snaked his arms around her and held her to him.

"Nooo! Don't, don't, look at me, don't look at me!" she tried to double over to hide her monstrous stomach, but Goku gathered her up and infused his spirit with hers.

"It's gonna be okay Chi, I promise you," he rubbed his cheek against her teary one. "None of this is real, it's all in your mind. It's gonna be just fine, you'll see." He kissed her forehead and held her to him as she continued to cry and struggle against him.

…

Goku snapped his eyes open to find the shaman staring down at him. He immediately crossed his arms to tighten his hold on his wife only to find that they were now empty. "I had her! I had her!" he slammed his fist on the rocks in frustration. Damn it! He had HER!

"Welcome back, and congratulations. You've successfully pulled her out of the infusion fever this time."

"I-I…I did?" he blinked up at the shaman in confusion.

"Go on, sense her, she's been out and awake for a while now."

…

"…and then Trunks tripped on its tail, but when he saw its teeth coming for his head, he was so scared he started shaking like big time; and then-"

"I was not scared, nor did I shake." Trunks interrupted his best friend. "Stop lying Goten, I introduced that ugly'ol beast to my fist, and that was that." Trunks folded his arms with a stern expression. Goten was painting him out to be some kind of weakling, and he wasn't.

"Uh-uh Trunks, first you was shaking,"

"…were shaking…" Chichi corrected from her position on the vibro-bed. Earlier when she'd come out of the shower, Saffra had already informed the kids and Sekei that she was finally awake. She had been so astounded by the astronauts transformation; he was truly himself again, just concerned about her. They had talked for a while, and of course, just like Goku, he hadn't remembered a thing about the time he'd spent in the donga. Chichi was glad for that, because all the screaming she'd heard in there had made her question Goku's judgment. In the end, he'd been right – Sekei was fully 'cleansed'. Unfortunately they hadn't been able to chat for long since he'd left to 'explore' some alien technology or other.

Gohan and Videl had brought her something to eat, courtesy of Laylai. The young teen had cooked up a storm for her, since her mother had gone out on sick calls. It was disappointing for Laylai to see how little Chichi ate, but as skinny as she'd become from the rapid weight loss of just one week in the infusion fever; no human, starving or not could ever hope to rival a saiyan or yardranian appetite.

The kids had remained with her, just sitting by her in Goku's rooms telling her stories about all their experiences in the week that she'd spent trapped in the fever. They had also been the ones to inform her of Goku's numerous attempts to pull her 'out' unsuccessfully.

"Um, first you was, I mean were shaking," Goten continued his tale. "Then I said, 'hit it Trunks, smack that ugly'ol beast in the face!' And _then_ you introduced it to your fist. That's the truth Trunks and you know it, wait till I tell Mr Vegeta about this, he'll put you in the gravity room for a week for shaking like that!" Goten laughed at his friend.

"Shut-up Goten," Trunks grumbled, turning away.

"Be nice Goten, Trunks was just a bit scared, there's no shame in that," Videl thought to help the situation.

"Listen up Videl, I am a saiyan wariour, I do. not. get. scared." Trunks narrowed his eyes at the crime fighter.

"Sure you don't." Videl rolled her eyes. She was fixing a petty retort, but Gohan shushed her by placing his finger against his lips.

Chichi just laughed. It sure was a joy to have them so young again. Something drastic would have to be done though, to make sure that Trunks never got his married paws on her precious granddaughter. "So, that's when you found the dragonball then?" Chichi enquired, distancing herself from the depressing thoughts of her past future. She didn't want dwell on that. Trunks was still innocent, and what was the point of re-doing the past, if you couldn't take advantage and fix up the up and coming mistakes of the future?

"Yeah, after Trunks knocked it out, I was able to get myself out of that sticky and weird looking web thing that was tying me up, and _then_ we found the dragonball." He grinned.

"You boys were very brave," Chichi patted their heads. "Now we have four dragonballs."

"Yeah, this planet's pretty cool." Goten chirped

"If you say so," Trunks didn't seem to agree.

"Don't be mad cause you failed Trunks," Goten laughed at his friend, sticking his tongue out at him.

"Shut up Goten!" Trunks clenched his face, he didn't wanna talk about that Instant Transmission thing again.

"He failed? He failed what?" Chichi asked curiously, but Goten was too busy laughing at his friend to answer her.

"Dad took all of us to his old Instant Transmission master, Master Ticha. We were thinking thinking that we could maybe learn the technique as well." Gohan began, "anyway, he sorta put us through this weird spirit test thing about ki. It was so weird, and Goten was the only one that 'passed'," Gohan muttered the last bit sourly.

"Did you also try Videl?" Chichi gazed at the matching sour looks of his son and future daughter in-law. She knew by her expression alone that Videl had definitely tried and failed.

"The whole thing was just stupid if you ask me," was her response.

Chichi laughed, Videl hated failure even more than Gohan did. She took it all so personally. It was funny to watch this side of her, especially since she knew how Videl mellows out after having Pan.

She was just about to ask more about the Instant transmission training 'test' when...

"Daddy!" Goten suddenly exclaimed happily at the appearance of his half-naked father. The fact that he was only in his shorts, bare foot and bare chested and still covered in slimy goo from diving into Chichi's fever didn't seem to faze the little guy. He immediately latched himself on to his leg. "Look daddy, she's awake, she's awake!" he pointed towards his very awake mother with a happy smile. "You did it!"

"Yeah. You finally did it dad. We've been waiting for you to wake up. Mom's been awake for a while now." Gohan looked his father up and down with a warm and happy smile. It was obvious to the teen that his father had come straight here as soon as his consciousness had returned to his body. He could hardly blame him. They had all been so worried.

Videl couldn't help but let her eyes travel the length and breadth of her boyfriend's father, slimy gooey stuff or not. Yeah, now she knew for a fact where Gohan got his hotness from. Her mouth sagged disapprovingly though. Goku could have at least jumped into the shower first; that muti stuff sure looked gross all over him like that.

Over the children's banter, Goku and Chichi locked eyes. Chichi, with a nervous swallow, and Goku with a searching eye.

"You did it dad!" Goten reiterated his praise.

"Yep! How about that?" Goku grinned at both his sons. "With your mom awake, we now have two things to celebrate today!" He declared, making a 'two' with his fingers.

"Err what's number two?" Goten scrunched up his face in confusion.

"What's number two?" Goku exclaimed dramatically. "The vibro-beds Goten! I thought you kids wanted to buy some. Chimz is waiting outside. He's taking you to the factory to choose your own beds to take with to earth!"

Goten's eyes expanded in glee. That would be the coolest thing Ever! Okay, maybe not as cool as fusing with Trunks and becoming ass-kicking Gotenks, or as cool as being the only one to pass the spirit test and getting to learn IT, but it was still pretty cool. "Ya mean it?" He shared an excited look with Trunks, though his purple haired friend was trying to keep up appearances. "Well yeah, but not if you don't hurry, you might find none left!" Goku exclaimed in a dramatic and urgent voice.

Goten was immediately alarmed. "Come on you guys," he wasted no time in pushing the occupants of the room out the door. "Come on big-brother, come on you guys, let's go!"

"Chill Goten, we're coming okay?" The group consisting of Goten, Trunks, Gohan and Videl disappeared out the drapes, leaving Goku and Chichi alone in his old rooms.

"You always have a way with him," Chichi smiled, even though the curves of that smile extended into something nervous.

"Yeah, well, he's always been more like me than Gohan ever was."

She briefly thought of suggesting that he have a quick shower to rid himself of all that muti, but opted against it. Goku was on her in a second, his relief was immeasurable. He found himself cupping her face, threading his fingers through her short hair, smoothing his hands down her robe. Anything really, just so long as he could feel the realness of her within his fingertips. He was staining her robe with all the muck from the donga, but he didn't seem to care.

He had been smiling as he spoke, but that smile hadn't quiet reached his eyes. She still looked pale and sickly to him, not to mention thin. He hated that she'd had to go through that.

Chichi tightened the sash of her robe uncomfortably, unsure of what to do. She really just wanted to throw herself in his bare and slimy arms and hold him. She wanted to reassure him now that she knew that deep down, behind that perpetually cheerful face, lay a man who also had his own worries, his own fears, just like everyone else. She felt like she understood the burden of the power he carried with him a little better now. _She_ had all but fell apart when her actions had created a butterfly effect that had killed Videl; and that had been just one person, one isolated incident. Yet she had nearly lost her mind with guilt and grief. What more of Goku? How did he do it everyday? How did he cope? Every decision he made had the potential to affect the fate of the entire universe. She wanted to tell him that she understood his burden a lot better now, but…

There was something in his expression that made her want to shift around and squirm instead. Goku, like Sekei, had all but forgotten their nightmares upon exiting the donga, but now, ten years later, or forty-five to me more technical, because of her sneaking around, he'd had to relive that which had been buried once more. She didn't even realize that she was twiddling her fingers at this point. She felt like an adolescent that had been caught breaking the rules.

It was silly to feel this way, it's not like she was a child that needed his permission to do things, but...she _had _snuck out of bed, invading that part of his privacy that was so private that even _he_ had had no access to it, until now...

His fingers were tracing lines along her face as if he was checking for something, and Chichi realized that she'd have to stop all this touching that seemed to flow so easily between them these days. "Thank you for pulling me out." She smoothed her hands over her robe.

"Do you, do you remember any of it?" Goku was really worried about the possible effects of being stuck for a week like that. The Shaman had said that everyone reacted differently.

"I remember all of it." She told him honestly. Sometimes when she closed her eyes, she could still see that pale hollow woman with sunken eyes and a monstrous stomach. It was disturbing, but it would pass. She knew it wasn't real.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that. It was dangerous to open the book on your own like that. Are you okay?" His hands continued to examine her, as if he was looking for remnants of those bruises, but of course, her skin was flawless. "Oh Chichi, why did you hide from me in there, why didn't you come to me?"

"I…I don't know, it's all so confusing. I was me, but its like, I was really stuck in the past. I couldn't bare for you to see me like that, after what he'd done. I just couldn't…" her voice cracked. "It's all so confusing."

"I was so scared, when you didn't respond, I was so scared." He threw caution to the wind and crushed her against him. "No matter what happens Chi, even if it'd been real, you know I would never…" His throat was so constricted, so raw, he could barely get the words out. "I would never want you to hide from me."

"If it'd been real, I think I might have killed myself. But you were right about Vegeta all along, he's one of the good guys, so let's put the whole thing behind us okay?"

"You won't try to read it again will you?"

"I guess I should have asked you first; then I would have done it properly. I didn't know about the possible effects and stuff." She cleared her throat. "And anyway, I'm fine. I'm just fine." She decided that all this touching was just getting out of hand. It had started getting out of hand in the pool-room all those days ago. She took a few steps away from him, and went back to playing with the ends of her sash.

Goku wanted to put an end to this gap she was creating between them and hug her again; he wanted to make contact with her soft flesh so they'd be no confusion about how real she was. But watching her step away from him, distancing herself from him yet _again_, he just felt all weird inside for some reason. The whole air between the two of them had changed. How was it possible when just a few days ago they'd been as close as they'd been? So close in fact, he was pretty sure her answer would have been yes in the pool-room. Now…it all felt stiff and weird.

Silence.

"Well," Goku began uncertainly, "we have the fourth dragonball, so when the kids finish with their shopping with Chimz, I guess we can get going to the next planet. I think I can sense Sekei and Vegeta together, they must be on the ship already."

"I guess," she agreed. There was nothing else to say, yet she felt like there was so much that _had_ to be said.

She bit her lower lip, fingering and twiddling with her sash as the silence just seemed to stretch and stretch with rapidly increasing elasticity.

"I'll go ahead and say bye to some people then. I guess I'll see you back at the ship?"

"Okay," she watched him raise his fingers to his forehead, his bare muscles flexing in that oh so wonderful way. Gosh, to think that IT didn't even seem strange or startle her anymore. Everyone on this planet seemed to use it to get around.

"Goku..." She called to him before he could disappear. "I'm sorry I made you remember all that stuff, if you hadn't gone to pull me out..."

"It's okay Chi, I know it wasn't real. I was prepared when I went in. I'm just glad I got you out before it was too late." Were his words before he disappeared from her eyes.

…

"Hey Videl, check this out. They've got some pink slabs for the beds this side," Trunks went to stand next to the glass housing the different colored beds. He was trying to make sense out of all the specs, he wanted the very best. The most advanced out of all of them.

"And who said I wanted pink?" Videl walked passed him, trying to find something more neutral.

"Just saying," Trunks shrugged. Girls liked pink right? His grandma did, that's for sure.

…

He was finally showered and clothed, walking through the rocky and barren training grounds with his old master to say his goodbyes.

"Your youngest could have mastered this in a few weeks time. It's a shame that you have to get going so soon." Master Ticha told Goku.

"I know. It's a real pity. But the earth is already in trouble and we need to get the last three dragonballs as soon as possible. Otherwise you know I'd be happy to hang around and let him complete this training." Goku explained. After the tests that the kids had been subjected to, Master Ticha had happily agreed to take on Goten. He'd said that his spirit was strong, and that IT would come naturally to him. The others, he'd said...would test his limits and patience beyond what he was willing to give. He had a backlog of yardranian students anyway, and their parents didn't stop yapping about it. "But now that we have the coordinates again, I promise to bring him back to complete his training one day."

"Coordinates, pfft. You must enjoy travelling those vessels Goku, why else would you wish to waste so much time in them, going from planet to planet? Why don't you just use IT to get the remaining dragonballs?" Master Ticha eyed him curiously.

"What d'ya mean Master Teech? I would if I knew the ki signatures of the people on the planets that have the dragonballs. But I don't, so I can't lock on to them. I don't like being cooped up in a spaceship at all. I wish I _could_ just IT and get them, but it's impossible." He pouted.

"Ah, I see how your thought process still works. You disappoint me Goku." Master Ticha shook his head at his former pupil.

"Huh? But why?" Goku stared at him in confusion.

"Think Goku. Why do you need the ki signatures of the people on those planets when you have the signatures of the dragonballs themselves?"

"Huh? Dragonballs don't have ki, they're just stones."

"Are they?" Master Ticha gave him a knowing smile

"Aren't they?" Goku stared at him

"They have a life-force Goku. They have vibrations of their creator's essence living within them. If they were just stones, they woudnt be able to pull out the dragons from their realm, and they certainly wouldn't die and become in-nate when their creator also dies. Think Goku. Perhaps we cannot classify it as ki, but they definately have something inside them. What was our first lesson in IT?"

"Um...gee Master Teech, I don't think I remember." He scratched his head. Come on, it was over fifty years ago for him, he had learned so many other techniques since then. He could hardly remember the first lesson of every technique he'd mastered. It was just silly.

"Life, Goku, it was a lesson on everything that is or is connected to Life."

"Aha, yeah! Anything that's linked to a life can be locked. I remember now."

"The dragonballs are always tied to their creators. Have you never held them in your hands and felt it? That lingering pulse of their essence?"

"Erm...no." Goku responded with a blank expression.

Master Ticha shook his head and sighed. "Bring me a dragonball," he instructed.

"Err...now?"

"No Goku, in six months when your planet explodes."

"Okay, okay, let's see...Vegeta should be in the ship...huh?...oh okay...got him..." And just like that Goku, vanished.

"My best alien pupil, and he still takes too long to de-materialize." Master Ticha shook his head, unimpressed.

"Got it!" Goku appeared, beaming.

"It took you long enough," Master Ticha snatched the ball from his hands.

"Wha...no I was only a second Master Teech!"

"I've told you a hundred times, it's Ticha, not Teech. Now be quiet Goku, I'm trying to teach you something here."

"Sorry," Goku pouted

"Now, close your eyes and empty all your thoughts, just like I taught you. You still remember how to do that, don't you?"

"Of course I do Master Teech I-"

"I said, keep quiet. Now, place your hands over mine and I want you to really focus on what you're sensing."

"I don't have to focus," Goku frowned as he placed his hands over his former masters. "its pretty obvious what it is. It's your ki, its jumping out to me."

"Focus!"

"Okay, okay!" Goku shut his mind and allowed no intrusions. He directed his whole being towards the make-up of what he could feel over Master Ticha's hands.

"What am I doing now?"

"You're lowering it, slowly, but I can feel it." Goku spoke as if in a trance.

"Good, now keep going, take in everything you sense, all of it. Can you feel that?"

Goku furrowed his brow, his cheeks rising slightly in concentration. "What's that? It's...right," he pressed his eyelids closer together,"...right...there underneath your ki. It's..." He gripped harder on Master Ticha's hands, "what's that?"

"Try again." Master Ticha encouraged as he further reduced his ki until it was undetectable.

"But your ki, it's vanished, completely. I can't...wait...huh...what's that?" He picked up the remnants of something. It was tiny, barely there, but he could feel it.

"You feel it don't you?"

"It's not ki, but its definately...something, is that?" He opened his eyes to find his masters round ones staring back at him.

"That, my dear Goku, is what connects the dragonballs to their creator. Impressive isn't it?"

"No. It's puny. It's not impressive at all." Goku scowled at how pathetically small it was. Turtle's life-force seemed gigantic compared to thsi puny thing.

"I meant the fact that you've been able to discover it in the first place Goku. Not how strong it is. God!" Master Ticha huffed. It was and always would be about power with this one.

"Yeah, well...I don't see how it's gonna be useful, I mean, I can barely sense it, yet it's right in my hands. How can I sense it in the missing dragonballs when they're in all them planets that are soo...soo...soo...far away?"

"How many weeks did we spend on the distance waving technique?" Master Ticha glared, the thick skin of his roots pulsing in irritation. It wasn't a pretty sight.

Goku cringed, "Err...heh heh heh...about that, I never got a chance to practice when I got home like we'd planned. You see, when I arrived, so did Trunks from the future, and he said these Androids were gonna come and-"

"So you never mastered the technique." Master Tachi summerised as he gritted his teeth. "I spent weeks teaching you Goku. I put off some of my other students for you. I had the transport council breathing down my neck. I had to pay fines, you promised to-"

"I know, I know, and I'm sorry. I can give you some of Bulma's jewels for the fines if you want. But there was really no time for that. The world needed saving." Goku attempted to justify himself.

"Like I said, you disappoint me Goku. Watch..." Master Ticha vanished with a speed even Goku didn't anticipate. Before he could prepare to blink, he was already back with three dragonballs in his hands.

"Master Ticha! That's impossible!" Goku exclaimed, his eyes huge as he counted the stars in each dragonball. The numbers confirmed that they were definitely not part of the ones they'd already collected. Master Ticha had just journeyed to three distant planets, planets that would have taken them weeks if not months to get to. He had just journeyed there and back successfully, bringing back all there dragonballs, it was insane.

"Yes, impossible. And yet, here they are." Master Ticha made a disgusted face at the slime on his clothes. "And one of them just had to be in the belly of a beast. Just great." He said dryly, handing the dragonballs over to Goku as he tried to pry off some of the slime off his clothes.

"But Master Ticha! How? And all three of them? I don't understand how you were even able to sense them. I can barely sense the thing inside them, even while holding them. How? I have to know, how?" In quick liquid form, a buzzing and excited curiosity coursed through his saiyan blood. It was pulsing as hard and as inquisitive as that very first time he'd seen his rescuers using IT. Right away, he had sworn to stay behind until he too could do it.

"Ah, Goku, you're still my most promising alien pupil. Sadly you're still not even close to my level. To think, there is still so much I could teach you. You and your talented son, Goten." Master Ticha patted his shoulder regretfully. He hated manipulating his former pupil this way, tempting him, but Saffra had made him promise to try.

"But I thought, I thought..." Goku stammered, his eyes still glued to the dragonballs. "Master Ticha, I've made a decision. Goten and I are _not_ leaving Yardrat until I've perfected that distance wavering thing. I have to be able to do what you just did. I just havt'a!" His eyes glistened in an all too familiar excitement.

Master Ticha smiled sadly at his victory. They were far from a strong race, even humans were stronger than them in the physical sense of the word. But their intelligence had no bounds. Saffra would be pleased with his work. Once Goku announced to his family that he was staying behind with young Goten, they would all journey back to earth without him, and for this, he was regretful because he knew that the princess would never ever forgive him.

Fitting perfectly with Saffra's plans.

...

"Wow dad, I can't believe it. He just...got them all, just like that?" Gohan and the rest of the earthlings were still staring at all seven dragonballs. It seemed so surreal that they're journey had just like that, come to a premature end. They could head on to earth now, and with time to spare.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get off this ugly rock and get going." Vegeta looked pleased for the first time since this journey began. He was the first to settle into his chair and strap himself in. He had never been more ready for take-off.

"I'm gonna contact dad and let him know!" Videl raced out of the control room to retrieve the satellite phone. She had to tell him the good news. They were going home, they were finally coming home!

"Yeah. Who knew huh? Master Teech is something special alright." Goku said with admiration. "It should take you about a month to get back to earth I'm guessing. Plenty of time to save things. Dende and Piccolo will be pleased." Goku placed his hand on Gohan's shoulder.

"Well, that settles it then. Goten and Trunks go ahead and settle into your seats please." Chichi instructed. "Sekei, hey, you look a bit sad, everything okay?"

"I guess I was kinda hoping to explore more planets. I missed out on the last ones we visited. I wish I hadn't spent all that time in my room." He sulked

"You were not yourself, it couldn't be helped. Think about it this way – you've discovered and recorded a lot of yardranian technology that you can discuss with Bulma right? Plus you'll finally get to talk to Goku about what he remembers about making a Cold-Empire style healing tank. Imagine the possibilities that all those discoveries could bring for Capsule Corp."

Sekei seemed to perk up a bit. "Son Chichi, you are absolutely right. The vibro-beds themselves and the enecko-pulse machine will take us eons to try and reverse engineer. This is great!" He rubbed his hands together. "What do you say Goku? Will you tell me everything you remember about the formulae for that healing tank regenerative-fiquid stuff?"

"Yes Kakarot. It's about damn time. I for one, cannot wait to hear this. God knows you've stalled me for months on this issue, now its time for some answers." Vegeta folded his arms and glared at Goku. How the imbecile could suddenly, and out of the blue claim to remember what very few elite saiyans ever got the privilege to know, was beyond him.

"Um, yeah. Sounds like a great idea you guys, but we're gonna hav'ta discuss it in a few months time. You see, I was kinda thinking of staying here for a while longer. There's this distance waver wave thing that I wanna learn and Mater Teech said that-" he began to tell his story.

Chichi forgot to breathe just then. The force of an entire planet dropping on her head, squashing her to fine dust couldn't have shocked her more than this. He was doing what? It couldn't be true! It just couldn't! She laid her palm on the edge of one of the seats to steady herself.

"What do you mean dad? You just got back! What is so wrong with us that you can't stomach to be around us for any length of time?" Gohan exploded out of nowhere.

"Whoa! Whoa! Calm down Gohan. Calm down son. I'm not talking about staying here by myself. I wouldn't do that! Master Ticha really believes in Goten. He thinks he's a natural with this ki stuff. He wants to keep teaching him IT until he masters it."

"He does?" Goten blinked, shocked. That wrinkled up ol'meanie had yelled at him! Saying he had no attention spanner, or whatever.

"Sure he does Goten. It'll be great. I was thinking that your mother, Goten and I could stay here for a while longer, while you guys got the dragonballs to earth."

"Pft. Kakarot, you're staying on this barren rock again?" Vegeta just chuckled. Kakarot was a strange one indeed, for someone who professed to love the earth as much as he did, he definitely didn't appear to enjoy spending time on it. Not that he blamed him entirely; he would also take numerous time-outs if he had Chichi for a wife. She was strong for an earthling female and he hated to admit it, but he wasn't blind. The woman was more than just pleasing to the eye; but that mouth of hers would have made his ears bleed to death a long time ago.

"I can't believe this dad! You want to stay behind _only_ with mom and Goten? What about me?" Gohan couldn't help but feel hurt that his father had made all these plans and had immediately excluded him. Damn it, he'd gone for seven years without his dad, how many more absences was he supposed to take?

"Son, you and Videl have those finals in a few months. You need to be back home studying. You guys have missed months of school work. You _do_ want to be accepted at that MountainDew University don't you?" Goku defended his position. He remembered how much Chichi had cried fifty years ago when Gohan his acceptance letter. She had cried more than she had cried when baby Gohan was born. He figured that since Chichi had cried so much, it was some kind of big deal, and that she'd want him to get in again.

At his words, Gohan fell over from shock. The words 'study' and 'university' coming out of his father's mouth were just plain shocking.

"Out of the question!" Chichi fumed. What was wrong with this man? Her? Stay here? Was he crazier than she'd thought? She would never stay here with that husband seducing whore! Never!

"But Chi, I really wanna-"

"Out of the question Goku. Goten and I-"

"Aww, but mom, I wanna finish learning IT! Even if that old guy sure is mean." He whined, he really, really wanted to!

"Enough Goten. I don't want to hear it. Sekei, please go ahead, you were going to start the ship. We've all said our goodbyes to all the nice people we encountered here, now it's time to go home."

"Aww but Chichi I have to stay and learn this thing, pleaaaase Chi? It won't take that long, plus it will be real useful if we have to gather the dragonballs again in an emergency."

"This trip was about saving the earth Goku, have you forgotten? It was never about picking up new techniques along the way. We have all seven dragonballs now, there's no reason to stay in space. It's time to head back."

"Chichi,"

She knew that look. Oh, how she knew that stubborn, eager and childish look. He was really gonna do it. Despite everything, he was really gonna do it, he was really gonna stay. She steadied herself, squaring her shoulders. She would not let it affect her this time. Not this time.

"Kids, say bye to your father." She stood firm and strong. Goku could stay here with these pink aliens if he wanted. She was pretty sure that whore Saffra would be delighted. It was just fine with her, it would make her case for divorce even stronger in the courts. She wished she could be more shocked at his actions, but she wasn't. This was the proof she needed that after everything, after everything they'd talked about, he was still the same old Goku. His ambition for strength, for ultimate power and all its techniques would always burn stronger than for anything else.

It was fine.

This is exactly what she needed to see to get her head straight about just 'who' her husband really was, and 'who' he'd always be.

Goku saw the look in her eyes and knew there was no changing her mind about staying. It saddened him; it really did because he really wanted all of them to stay on together. "I guess there's no changing your mind then Chi, I really wanted us to stay behind together." Goku spoke with two fingers to his forehead. "I'm sorry son," he addressed his youngest.

And the next second he was gone.

She knew he was going to do it, she knew him for crying out loud! But deep down a part of her had been hoping that by some miracle, by some unlikely crack in a diamond, there was the chance that he had actually heard her, had actually understood the importance of family.

All the breath she'd been holding in left her, leaving the blood circulating in her system bare. She couldn't fathom how much he was still capable of hurting her. Just like that, without even kissing his children, he was gone.

"What just happened?" Gohan could barely breathe as he stared at the spot that used to be his father. He had felt this pain before, this grip on his insides. He remembered clearly when his father had refused to be wished back from Yardrat, and then, three years later, he had refused to be wished back to life. Definitely, this tightening in his chest, this drainage sucking at his soul, was nothing new.

"I think dad just went to tell that Tiching guy that we can't stay." Goten pouted. He'd really, really wanted to finish his lessons in IT.

Chichi felt a clench in her chest at Goten's optimism. This would be the first of many disappointments he'd suffer at his father's hands. How could he? After all their talks? Sure, she had told him repeatedly that they were over and that she would be moving on as soon as they got back to earth, but damn it he'd promised to be there for his kids! For someone whose worst fear was losing his family, he sure had a funny way of showing it.

"Oh Goten, honey. Your father hasn't gone to say bye. But you'll see him again in a few months okay?" she tried to speak with as even a voice as she could.

"Huh?" Goten loooked confused as Videl came rushing back into the control room.

"I told my dad, he's soooooo excited that we're coming back earlier than planned!" She was practically skipping. "Gohan what's wrong?" Her good mood sank when she saw the stricken look on his handsome face.

"Nothing. Nothing at all. I just need a minute," he clenched his fists and stormed out of the room.

"Gohan! Wait!" Videl went chasing after him. She had only gone away for a few minutes to call her father with the good news, what could have happened? What did she miss?

"Um, is big-brother okay?" Goten scratched his sculp. What was going on?

"He just needs a minute sweetie. Sekei please," Chichi turned to the astronaut, "can we get this thing going?"

"Shouldn't we wait for Goku?" the astronaut looked confused.

Vegeta just laughed, Kakarot was long gone.

"Just start the damn thing!" She bit off his top

"Starting, starting!" he turned around and focused on the controls.

"Trunks, Goten, make sure you're properly strapped in, I'll be right back."

"Um okay," Goten was still confused as he pulled at the straps of his chair.

As soon as she turned the corner, she held on to the wall for support. She was already feeling it, the familiar clouding of the mind, the spinning, the sudden appearance of random colours lashing out at her. Instinctively she shut her eyes, protecting them from the intrusion. Breathing in and out, she outstretched her arms and pinched the tips of her fingers just as they'd taught her in the mental hospital as she recited the phrases that her shrink had given her.

She was spinning; she could feel it, faster and faster, making her even more and more dizzy, the motion upsetting her stomach. She squeezed her eyes tighter, in and out, in and out, she continued to breath until she began to feel the spins of dizziness subsiding, the churning in her stomach disappearing, the-

"Hey Chi, what'ya doing? Are you meditating here in the passage?" Goku's voice sounded confused.

She snapped her eyes open and stared at him. "The ship's taking off, you should be in your seat, I think." He was still staring down at her. She rubbed her eyes and kept staring. He was here? Back in the ship? He wasn't staying? What the…? "Hello!" He waved a hand in-front her her, "I'm pretty sure we all have to be strapped in, come on." He grabbed her hand and pulled her up. "I saw the bruise on Saffra's cheek when I dropped in just now to tell everyone that we weren't staying after all."

He gave her a questioning look, but Chichi was too dumbfounded by his appearance to think about the words coming out of his mouth. "She said you hit her." He let his words hang in the air, but Chichi just continued to walk, gaping at him. "Why did you hit her Chi?" He turned a corner and led her back to the main deck where the others were sitting, ready for lift-off. "I guess we'll talk about that later," he waited by her chair until she was properly strapped in, and then he took his. "This is it, let's go home you guys."

…

Later that night, while the ship hurtled its way to Earth, Videl traced the back of her hand against his face. He was beautiful to her, especially asleep like this. She couldn't sleep, not really. How could she when her heart was so full? She had been so excited when Goku had made his unexpected announcement. She still was, she was excited to go back to earth, to save the planet and rid herself of this burdensome guilt. She was excited to see her father and her friends, akward as it was all bound to be when they discovered that she was alive. She was excited to go back to school and she was especially excited to go back to her city. Surrounded by these super-powerful saiyan, she had felt a bit useless these past few months. It would be good to feel useful again, and putting away a few low life's gone rougue in her absence was just what she needed. Yes, her heart was full of all kinds of exciting prospects. Yet, gazing at his face as he breathed in and out softly, she couldn't hold on to any of that excitement, not when she knew that upon their arrival, she'd be separated from him. She'd be sleeping all alone in her large room, all alone in her king sized bed.

…

"I know you're awake Chi," Goku whispered in the dark. "We should talk about what you did to Saffra."

"What do you want me to say Goku, I lost my temper and punched her okay? There's nothing left to say." She spoke into her pillow. Truthfully, despite the other woman's cruel words, her thoughts were not on her at all, she was still trying to process the fact that Goku might have actually changed, but could it be permanent?

"What I don't understand is why? Saff is the sweetest, nicest, gentlest, and warmest-"

"You'd know about that, wouldn't you?" she muttered.

"Ahah. I spent a lot of time with her," Goku agreed, the bitter accusation completely lost on him. Chichi gritted her teeth. She didn't want to talk about this anymore. In the end, it didn't matter, none of it mattered. Saffra didn't matter and neither did her comments.

"I wish one of you would tell me what happened, she's my friend Chi, I don't like the fact that you hurt her. She doesn't deserve that."

"Like hell she doesn't!" Chichi finally abandoned her pillow and sat up, glaring darkly at her husband.

_"Go on Laylai, don't be shy, ask her. Chimz is waiting to take her back to the ship." Saffra pushed her daughter forward._

_"Um," Laylai began nervously, a furious red blush staining her pale pink cheeks. "I was wondering if…if I could have one earth garment before you leave," she said shyly._

_"Of course you can, I didn't bring that many, but you're welcome to come to the ship and look through what I have. I'm sure Videl would be happy to let you go through hers as well." Chichi smiled warmly at the girl._

_"Thank-you princess," she curtseyed and scurried out of the room. I'll be waiting outside with Chimz."_

_"You're welcome to keep the robe," Saffra offered._

_"No thank you," Chichi declined, slipping out of the garment right in front of the alien woman. She turned around and pulled the dress Videl had brought for her over her head. She didn't care if Saffra saw her in her undies, she just didn't give a damn._

_"Well," Saffra said, "It was a pleasure to have met you. I wish you and Goku the best."_

_"Yeah right." Chichi muttered as she slipped on her shoes._

_Saffra sighed regretfully. "I guess it's difficult for you to believe in my sincerity given the circumstances, but I really do love him, I only want to see him happy." _

_Chichi gritted her teeth as she ran a brush through her hair. Thank goodness Videl had thought to bring her all these things. "Well, maybe you'll get your shot then. Goku and I are over." She slipped her brush back in her purse and began to look around the room for any of her stray belongings._

_"So you're really going to go through with it. You're really going to leave him." The ever polite and graceful voice came out low and cold. "You don't deserve him." Saffra shook her head, her roots twitching in anger. _

_Chichi shrugged, throwing her purse on her shoulder. She didn't give a damn what Saffra thought. She didn't have to explain her actions to her._

_At Chichi's nonchalance, Saffra's anger mounted. "You know the kids always found the story of how you two got married soooo romantic. They made poor Goku tell it over and over again, but personally I just found it sad. Pathetic really." She snipped._

_Chichi shoulders stiffened, but she relaxed them immediately. She didn't care what Saffra thought. It was none of her damn business._

_"How could you have held him to a promise he'd made as a child?" Chichi heard the yardranian healer's voice rise for the first time. She would never have thought it possible, within all that beautiful grace. "He was a clueless child; he didn't even know what marriage was! What kind of a princess were you? Did you have no morals, no dignity? Running around chasing after poor clueless Goku!" She huffed. It was obvious to Chichi that the woman was waaay too emotionally invested in her husband. _

_She kept her eye on the tendrils unfurling behind her head, they were beginning to look dangerously like snakes. _

_"You tricked him, you tricked him and robbed him of the chance to meet and fall in-love with someone who would understand and accept him for everything he is!" The pink alien's face reddened with anger as she pointed accusingly at Chichi. "Don't you see, his calling is higher than all of us, it's higher than even the gods that rule above us and as his wife you should have been supportive!" Chichi tightened her grip on the strap of her purse, trying to will herself to remain calm. She was so sick and tired of being accused of tricking Goku. "Let's face it princess, you did trick him! You tricked him into this marriage and then trapped him with a son as soon as you'd said 'I do'." Chichi's nostrils twitched, as her eyes burned, but Saffra was not done yet. She had to let this earthling know just what she thought of her. She took a step closer to Chichi and stood right before her, towering over her. "You tricked him because deep down you always knew that you were never good enough for him." She spoke with an even and certain tone, her face just inches from Chichi's. "You act all high and mighty, all proper and decent, but really your behavior towards Goku has been no better than the pleasure slaves that use their bodies and their bastard offspring to entr-"_

_Thud._

_Saffra dropped to the floor as Chichi's fist connected with her eye. "Are you quiet finished yet?" Chichi asked as she swiped her hands up and down, peering down over the unconscious body._

_" Yes? Good. So am I." She said, stepping over the pink mass with its transparent roots. She couldn't wait to leave this planet and head on home to the blue horizons of earth._

"You have to tell me why you hit her Chichi, I just don't understand. I just don't get it." Goku was still pushing the issue.

The last thing she wanted to do was to bring up the subject of how she'd _tricked_ him into marriage. She wanted no part of that conversation; it was bad enough that she sometimes had it with herself. It made her boil over that Saffra would throw that in her face. No, she definitely wasn't going to bring that one up. She sighed, deciding on a course of action, something Goku would easily understand.

"I punched her for the same reason you threw Sekei at the wall at Bulma's that day."

"Huh…wha…" Goku's eyes widened. Of all the things he'd been expecting, that was not one of them. Saffra had never seen him naked or touched him in _that_ way! "Chichi!"

"Don't you Chichi me Son Goku! The woman wants to have sex with you!" Chichi yelled as she threw up her hands in exasperation. Goku's jaw dropped, _no she didn't! _Why Chichi always came up with these crazy stories involving other women, he would never understand. "Ha! She admitted it to my face. She told me herself, so don't give me that look Mr." She waved her finger at him.

"You must have heard her wrong Chi, Saf and I are friends, that's all."

"Just friends? Why don't you tell me just how _friendly_ you guys got that night of the storm when she crawled into your bed hmm?"

Goku cringed. "Aw, but Chichi, nothing happened, she was just scared that's all."

"Scared? Grow up Goku, stop being so clueless all the time. She wasn't scared, she was FAKING it! She didn't touch your thigh by accident that night; she was trying to get you in the mood. She wanted to have sex with you Goku, and just because you were too clueless to catch on doesn't mean that she gets to get away with it." Goku just stared, shocked. Saffra, wanted to have sex, with him? But, but, but…why? He didn't understand it. He didn't understand it at all. "I don't care if it was ten years ago or yesterday," Chichi continued her rant. "She had no right! And she has the nerve to talk to me about dignity Ha!" Chichi plopped herself against the headboard.

Goku scratched his head; he would never, ever understand women. "Well I-"

"Well nothing. She tried to seduce my husband, I punched her lights out, end of story…what…what are you grinning at?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I'm not gonna say."

"Say it," she threatened.

"Nope. You're not getting a word out of me." He made a zip against his lips with pinched fingers as he turned around and snuggled into his pillow.

"Say it Goku!" She bashed him repeatedly with her pillow, but Goku just made a dramatically loud snoring noise. "Why you," She began to smother him, pressing as hard as she could against his face. His snoring got muffled, but Goku pressed on, trying very hard not to laugh. Eventually even he, who could hold his breath for an unnaturally long time, began to run out of oxygen, he sprang out from underneath the pillow and flipped her onto her back. He was poised above her like was about to start doing push-ups.

"Say it," Chichi wasn't perturbed by her new position.

"Okay I'll tell you," Goku relented, "but only if you answer _my _question first. It's only fair, since I asked first." He concluded childishly.

Chichi's brow furrowed in confusion, what question? She thought she'd answered his question about punching Saffra. "Um…Goku, what question?" Her breath quickened when the elbows supporting his weight above her bent, forcing his body to lower closer to hers. His eyes seemed to be staring at her lips for some reason as he spoke. "My question from a week ago, in the pool-room."

She had definitely not been expecting _that_. She gulped, her eyes meeting his.

_"Chi," she remembered how he'd forced the words out from his mouth, his voice low and raspy. "Chi, are you sure?" She remembered how her body had been on fire, her chest rising and falling, rising and falling beneath him as she reluctantly peeled her eyes open. She remembered the darkened irises with great clarity, the dampened hair and the swollen lips. She remembered exactly what she'd been about to answer, the 'yes' was already forming on her lips when the spaceship had made that dramatic jolt. _

Goku abandoned the support sustained by his elbows and let his body fall and close the small inch of space between their torsos. "It's only fair, Chi, I asked you first," he continued to stare at her mouth as he lowered his face to her neck and sucked on her earlobe. "Are you sure," he let his teeth graze gently along her neck, "We'll be back on earth soon." He roamed his eyes over the entirety of her face. "Are you sure about this divorce?" He whispered, reiterating the question, only adding to it, completely turning it around on her, and Chichi froze.

…

_That's the chapter guys. _

_So its chrismas in a few days, so if you're reading, um...need I even ask? XD_

Find me as **Gue Twentytwo **on FB. I'm also to be found lurking amongst the members of **Team Dragon Star **right here on FF. Check out our profile, our stories and our Forum if you can.

**Kyra**: seriously though, you humble me. you make me feel like superman and yet im just a lowly ff writer. When you itemize the bits that you enjoyed like you always do, or the bits that you feel were over the top like you always do, its all I can do not to burst out in glee. I don't know what all these dictionaries are talking about, because as far as I'm concerned, inspiration is spelt K Y R A. From the very beginning you've been right alongside me with these stories and I can't thank you enough.

**Bouquet**: I know, yuck! Poor Chichi!

**Kawaii248**: aw, poor chichi. it must be sooooo confusing to be her right now. That dam goku!

**Jbblockk**: hi and thanks for your feedback. Glad you're enjoying the story.

**Collision:** _I thought it may be interesting if someone somehow regained their memories as well. I can imagine goten waking up in a seven year old body haha._ Its real funny that you should say that cause originally, something was supposed to happen to Goten and Videl on one of the planets and then they're memories came back, but as I started writing the actual story from the plot, I was like, um, no, too much time and energy would have to go into their respective emotions. Eep, I'm lazy, I know, I know, so I just cut it out. Come on, don't look at me like that, heh heh heh.

**Omegaru:** thanks so much for the review!

**Gokuandchichiforever:** _but then again no one could NOT fall in love with Goku. i mean im in love and getting engaged and i fantasize about him LOLLLL :P _hah hah hah hah hah, we you're not the only one. I mean I'm MARRIED and I still fantasize about him too! Heh heh, ah, Goku. What a guy! Thanks so much for the review. I'm glad you enjoyed that last chapter, very, very glad.

**Pixelqueen:** glad you liked it!

**Kiara:** I absolutely agree with you. He definitely doesn't deserve a reward for it, a husband is SUPPOSED to be faithful! Urgh! Goku is just so frustrating, gosh! Thank you so much for your feedback Kiara, I hope I didn't take too long with the update.

**Serina Tsuki:** *catched serina before she falls over* see, an update. I hope it made it in time. XD hi Serina, gosh, thank you so much. I don't know what to say to that. I'm so glad you liked it!

**Ninjapuppies:** You have to go thru the whole book of gokus spirit walk! O.O but, but that will take FOREVER, LOL! Thanks so much for your feedback. I'm glad you're still enjoying the story.

**Theganstaoflove:** you're still there *happy smile*

**Sierra:** _The part where Chi Chi opened Goku's little book thing-y and... stuff was just... wow. o-o _I'm just gonna go ahead and interpret that as a positive kinda O-O right? So erm, STILL, yeah, im totally gohan/videl blocked at the moment. Even their little moment in this chapter was…bleh..what will I do? I have to finish those stories!

**Son Goshen**: hey you. where are you? I feel like you and 18 have abandoned me. FB is ubber supper lonely these days. You found it creepy? YAY! I'm barely able to do creepy, so if I pulled it off, even if its just a bit, I'm rejoicing! YAY! Stephen King is my hero for creeping me out in his book about aliens. WHOA! That shit creeped me out for real. But I digress, oops! Thank you so much for the feedback and erm, erm, erm, Broken Chain, right. It's just one lousy chapter left, why is it sooooo hard for me?

**Sennaforever**: hiya, and thanks so much for the review!

**Sainivy:** yep. I find the night relaxing too. Late night to be exact. Thanks for the feedback.

**Hikari no Tenshi:** I don't know what to say. I'm just too excited that you don't find the Gohan Videl moments flat and boring. They may not be my fav couple, but I do enjoy writing about them as well. Heck, the majority of my stories (all incomplete) *guilty face here* are about Gohan and Videl, and yet, Goku and Chichi truly are my favourite. You know, when I get the time to read, which is not often these days, all these damn stories I started, lol, my search goes something like this: DBZ filter by English, filter by all ratings, filter by goku and chichi and then I feast my eyes like a crazy person, heh heh heh. I love them so much, I'm pretty sure its unhealthy, but oh well. Anyway, I just wanted to say, that I WILL finish this story, I will, I WIL! Thanks again for the feedback, it really means a lot to me.

**Jingles:** _Btw, HOW DARE VEGETA say that? It was funny as shit but I had to pause for a second when he said it b/c it was just so wrong in that moment for Chi-Chi. I could actually feel her pain. (;_;) _You know, when I first read that, I was like, umn, what did Vegeta say? What did he say? I had forgotten about that, so I went through his dialogue in the chap, and I was like HUH? WTF did he say? But of course, that was in her memories so that's why it was difficult for me to find. And when I did, I was like heh heh heh, did I write that? O.O I'm glad you enjoyed the chaps. Thank you for the feedback, it really means a lot to me.

**Kikipotter:** glad you enjoyed it. aw, poor goku!

**Ilovegcc:** happy holidays to you too and thanks so much for your feedback. I'm glad you got a kick out of the aliens, I really enjoyed writing them.

**Gohansgirl**: I love him too! I love him too!

**Chihara:** I'm so glad to see that you enjoyed the last two chapters. YaY! _Will someone tell Gohan and Videl to stop interrupting G and C? Swear I'm gonna bite someone's ears off if they get interrrupted again!_ hah hah hah hah hah, oh man. ROFLMAO here! Thank you so much for your review, and don't worries, I'll talk to those naughty teens!

**Knroth:** I love him too! Heh heh heh

**DagonutRenaisance:** Hi, just in case you've read the whole story already, I just wanted to say, thank you so much for your feedback.

**Tbucknor**: Hi there, and wow, you found this story after so long huh? It just makes my day to know that you read all of it and are still interested. Thank you for the review, and yeah, Goku, as much as I love him, has been a pretty crappy father and husband.

**Nukido14:** but, but, but why aren't you reading goku/chichi fics? *pouts* _As much as I dislike Saffra but I gotta give her credit for her seducing Goku! _That right there just put me on the floor! OMW! Me too! Me too! I mean, let's face it, WHO in their right mind would pass up the opportunity to seduce Goku XD You know, my sister and I were procrastinating when I got your review. We were supposed to be planning a Christmas menu, but instead she was giving me a lecture about FF. Why do you even bother? No one reads that stuff anyway, its just a waste of time! She kept lecturing me. So I was soooo happy when I got your review, because I just shoved it in her face and said THERE! That's why I do it, that's why I continue to enjoy this hobby, to share the hotness that is Goku with everyone! LOL! Thank god for you! Thank god I'm not the only nut who just loves that goofy earth raised saiyan! I've heard of TFS, sadly I haven't seen any of it because I cannot stream, but I'll definitely check it out in two weeks or so when I get to Spain cause the internet there is awesome. I also want to check out that DBZ movie you mentioned last time about Goku feeling it as Chichi was attacked! When I read that I was like. CuRse you GUe for not watching DBZ Movies! You see, I watched two, and really hated them, so from that day onwards, I told myself that I wouldn't watch anymore. SILLY ME! Now I'm gonna stream'em, stream'em all if they have such magical gokuxchichi madness. But heh, heh, look at me, busy going off on a tangent when all I wanted to say was THANK YOU SO MUCH for your feedback. It really made my day!_  
_


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer:** I own a new sparkly something, but I won't say what. I'd trade it in for Goku any day though.

Chapter 17

…

"I'm sure," Videl stared up at him, cupping his face. "I don't want to wait."

Gohan gulped, it's not as if he didn't want to, he just didn't think the spaceship was the best place. "Videl, Dr Doi thinks we'll be back on earth in just over two weeks, we can go somewhere, just the two of us and-" but Videl cut him off with her finger. "I think you've forgotten about rule number three," she smiled suggestively and before he knew it, Gohan had lost his shirt.

…

"Just explain it to him the way you explained it to me Chi, you're a pretty good teacher." Goku spoke with wide eyes at the prospect of having to have this talk, _again_ with his son. Even though it had been just over fifty years since he'd last attempted it, he still remembered how he had messed it up.

"Honestly, Goku." Chichi shook her head, "Gohan knows all there is to know about sex, I don't have to explain it to him the way I had to explain it to you." She walked over to where he was seated on a kitchen stool, and began to clear the mountain of breakfast dishes from in front of him, as she tried to clear her head. She still couldn't quell the disappointment she had felt a week ago at his non-reaction, after she'd given him her final answer.

"But you just said that I have to give him _thee _talk." Goku wiped off the breakfast grease from the corner of his mouth as he cast confused eyes at her. He was trying his best to be 'natural', to not let the sadness residing in him show. _"Yes Goku, I'm sure. I still want a divorce when we get back to earth."_

"Yes, you still have to give him the talk," Chichi affirmed.

"But I thought the sex talk _was_ the talk? It was last time you made me give it," he continued to stare at her, confused. What other talk could there be? _"Yes, Goku, I'm sure. I still want a divorce when we get back to earth." _

Chichi smiled as she placed the dishes in the sink. She ran some hot water and squeezed in some detergent. "Yes Goku, I know. I just want you to talk to him about taking the necessary precautions that's all," she frowned slightly as the sleeves of her purple overdress absorbed a bit of the soapy water. Why was she so disappointed? Had she really been hoping that he'd argue against it? Beg? Why was she so disappointed?

"Pre-Pre cautions?" Goku blinked in confusion

"Yes Goku, precautions, like using a condom and being responsible." She folded up her sleeves and dipped her hands into the soapy water once again.

"Oh, those things! Heh heh heh…I never liked them much." He scratched his head. _Just like this divorce thing_. _There has to be something I can do to make her change her mind. Talking hasn't helped much, but I know there has to be something._

"You and every other man I'm sure, but this is not about you Goku, it's about our son, and how we don't want him to make a mistake." She spoke, placing the last of the plates on the large stack beside her. _Am I making a mistake? It seems like I've loved him for half my life, and then hated him for the other half. And now? Do I even know how I feel? Am I making a mistake?_

"Why?" Goku blinked

"What do you mean why?" she grabbed the long and slippery stack and began to walk with it. Goku abruptly got up from his stool and intercepted her, taking the stack from her absently like old times. With a practiced hand, he ran a warm glow over them, and the stack was instantly dry.

"Yes, why? We already know that he'll be careful. He always was. We already know that he's responsible. We already know that they'll get married and have four kids, why bother with all the talks?" he levitated into the air and placed the plates in stacks of two on the top shelf. The kitchen cupboards stretched all the way up to the roof of the spaceship. _Talking seems pretty useless to me right now, after all our talks Chi, you still don't believe that I've changed._

Chichi grabbed a cloth and began to wipe the counters clean."Why bother?" she shrieked, as her hand movements became more ferocious, "things are different now Goku! Last time, it took Gohan a whole year after Buu to ask Videl out on a simple date. This time, it's only been a few months, and Videl is already sleeping in his bed. If I didn't already know that they were meant for each other, I'd..." she closed her fingers around the dishcloth and squeezed just about the last drop of water out of it. "Look Goku, you told me yourself that she's been sneaking out of his bedroom every morning since we left the very first planet, and that was months ago! Who knows how far they've gone. We do not want a teenage pregnancy. You have to talk to him." She insisted.

"Aw, but Chi..."

"But nothing Goku, just do it okay. I still want Gohan and Videl to further their studies you know. They have finals coming up as soon as we land. I still want them to grow into the responsible young adults they grew into before this stupid wish, now go..." She shooed him, waving him off with the dishcloth. She wanted him out of her sight for a while. He was always just…there, hovering around her, clouding her mind, making her question her decision. It really wasn't fair! Especially because he hadn't said one word about, or against the divorce for the full five days! "Go, Goku! Go talk to Gohan!"

"But Chi..." Goku wiped at his face where droplets of water had sprayed off from the cloth.

She was getting nowhere with this. "I'll have cookies and chocolate milk when you're done, how does that sound?" she opted for the un-original, tried and tested method of bribery.

"Like a DEAL!" Goku suddenly beamed, racing to Gohan's door.

_Ninety years old, and I can still bribe him with milk and cookies_, Chichi shook her head, a small smile forming on her face. She hated to admit it, but a big part of her wanted him to beg her not to leave him, even though she knew that her mind was already made. It was made thirty-five years ago, when he took off with Shenron.

The clock on the kitchen wall was set to planet earth, West-City time. It was early in the morning. However, judging by the continuous dark they had been travelling in since leaving Yardrat, one would think it was very late at night. Chichi sighed, and began to absently pull out ingredients for a quick cookie dough. She had to make the cookies now that she'd promised him. Probably the last cookies she'd ever make him.

They were actually going home, it was incredible.

They had been in space for almost seven months now, and she was more than just a little home-sick. Sadly, she found that she was a little _time_-sick as well. She missed all her bustling grand-kids and great-grand kids, and it broke her heart to know that she was in for a long wait, for each of them to be born, yet again.

_I'm gonna be a better grandma to you guys this time around, I swear it._

"Morning!" came the chirpy voice of the resident astronaut.

"Hee…" Chichi touched her chest in fright. "Sekei, you startled me." she smacked him with the dish-towel. Good-morning to you too." She gave him a warm smile.

Since coming out of the spirit-donga, the astronaut had just about returned to his old bubbly self. He didn't seem to remember his experience inside it at all, and after hearing about Chichi's experience while reading Goku's Litoro, he hadn't touched his own book of memoirs. He had it in his room, still nicely packaged, but he had no desire to unwrap it and turn the pages. He now spent most of his time conversing with Gohan about the footage the teen had gathered from the planets that he'd been too traumatized to set foot on.

He also spent a lot of time jotting down the details of the formulae for the regenerative-fluid from Goku's early memories, in the hopes of teaming up with Bulma back on earth to replicate it. If they could replicate it successfully, it would be the biggest breakthrough in modern medicine. His name, alongside Capsule Corp and Bulma Briefs', would never be forgotten. He regretted so much, all that hiding and hibernating, there was so much he could have seen and learned.

"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to startle you." He apologized, chuckling. "Where is everyone?" He noticed how quiet the living area of the ship was. It was usually littered with Goten, Trunks and their numerous toys.

"Lazy bums are sleeping-in; they'll be crawling around here as soon as their stomachs start grumbling though."

"Well, not much to do except count the days till we get home, so..." he shrugged, "I'm just taking a break from those equations to make some tea." He explained, and Chichi couldn't help but feel glad that he was truly his old self again.

"Oh, well have a seat then, I'm just about to make cookies. How does tea and fresh cookies sound?" she tempted him.

"No one in their right mind would say no to your cookies Chichi." He smiled, as he settled himself into a kitchen stool. If he hadn't hibernated after their first planet, he might have enjoyed spending a bit more time with Chichi. They had grown so close in those first two weeks. He had hoped…urgh…he had hoped for the impossible anyway. Soon they'd be back home, and he'd probably never see her again. He couldn't help but stare at her behind as she moved around gracefully with her ingredients.

_He was seeing it, but he still didn't believe it – the most beautiful face on the most magnificent naked body he had ever laid eyes on, was trying to scramble off of him 'wait a minute, NAKED, she's naked' his thoughts raced, just as his nose started to tingle at the sight of this butt naked goddess._

His cheeks heated up at the memory, it was a good thing she wasn't looking at him. Even though he still couldn't make any sense of what he had seen the first time they'd all met: Chichi running down the corridor naked, Goku tossing him, the bruising he'd seen on her wrists. He was at least glad that he'd gotten to know Goku on the trip. He was truly a nice guy, and he felt ashamed now, to have thought that he was abusing his wife.

_"So you know them?" Sekei asked "…cause I think she was scared of him, I think he might be abusing her…" he said worriedly_

_And Sekei watched in disbelief as Bulma burst out laughing_

_"Bulma, I'm serious," he said, feeling just a bit put out by her reaction._

_"If you knew Chichi, you would be more worried that poor Goku was the one being abused, I assure you." She said between laughs, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Chichi, being abused, as if!"_

Preoccupied with his own thoughts, a small silence had settled between them, as Chichi expertly mixed the ingredients together into a firm dough. She sprinkled a bit of flour on the wooden board and began to roll out the dough until it was flat and even.

"I'm glad you're your old self again Sekei." She opted to break the silence, "are you sure you don't want to talk, about, " she took a small pause, "what happened to you..." she put down the rolling-pin and met his eyes before she grabbed the circular cookie-cutter.

"I…maybe one day." Sekei replied quietly, his eyes avoiding her gaze to focus on the black granite of the table top instead.

"Well I'm here, if you ever want to talk." she lifted her eyes to meet his and tried to offer him an encouraging smile.

"Thank you Chichi, I might take you up on that one of these days. I'll always be grateful that you helped me regain the use of my body again, and I'm sorry I was such an unappreciative and sour patient."

"That's okay, you were not yourself." Chichi waved off his apology.

"Still, I should have…Did you feel that?" Sekei's back suddenly stiffened.

"Feel wha...HOLY!" the rolling pin rolled right off the table and hit the floor with a thud. It continued to roll on the floor, gaining momentum from the tilt in the floor. Chichi screeched, dropping the cookie cutter as she gripped the kitchen counter as tightly as she could for support. It was as if the floor had suddenly declared itself as hungry. It was definitely grumbling its impatience. Items started rattling noisily as the ship itself started shaking violently.

"Something's wrong." Sekei rose unsteadily to his feet. "We have to get to the control room and strap ourselves in."

In a flash, Goku and two very red-faced half-naked teenagers trying to scramble into their clothes appeared, "What's going on?" Goku asked worriedly, swiftly moving to hold on to an unsteady Chichi.

"I don't know." The astronaut spoke with a creased forehead, but we have to get everyone to the control room, NOW!" Sekei raised his voice in a slight panic.

"Right." Goku nodded, putting two fingers to his forehead to gather the remaining passengers with Chichi holding on to him for dear life.

...

The tremors wreaking through the ship were so strong that the chairs in the control room were shaking.

"GO! HA! N!" Videl screamed from her seat, her eyes shut as tightly as was humanly possible. She was securely strapped in like the rest. But, unlike the rest though, her brow was brimming with sweat, her fingers gripping tightly to the armrest, every muscle in her body tense as memories of a bus-load of people tumbling down the mountain side flashed before her eyes. And as the ship continued to shake and hurtle uncontrollably, all she could hear was the loud and terrifying sounds of metal scrapping, bending and cracking, children and adults screaming alike as flames and smoke began to erupt all around them.

"We're going down. HOLD ON EVERYBODY!" Sekei announced as he bit his bottom lip anxiously. His fingers were clumsily playing around with a few controls, a click here a flick there, with Gohan by his side. The ship was literally spiraling out of control, being sucked in by the gravity of whatever celestial body they were dropping towards.

They were definitely dropping fast.

It was hardly the time to get out of once chair, but Gohan could not ignore Videl's terrified screaming. Abandoning his post, he gave the astronaut a lame thumbs up and ejected the straps off his co-pilot seat to rush to Videl's side.

The shrill and loud sound of the ship's emergency alert system had all saiyans wailing in pain from the assault on their ears. "I've got you Videl, it's gonna be okay," he wrapped his arms around her and her chair, securing them in a tight lock.

"HOLD ON!" the astronaut yelled again as the shaking intensified when the ship broke through the atmosphere of whatever was pulling them in.

…

"Ow," Sekei groaned, placing a hand on his forehead as he tried to blink off his disorientation.

"You okay?" Goku placed his hand on his shoulder, as he leaned into him worriedly.

"Man, my head." Groaned the astronaut. "I should be fine Goku, thanks." He typed in a few keys on the screen and ran a digital diagnostic of the ship to check the damage.

"Hold IT!" Chichi glared at Goten and Trunks. The duo was already trying to sneak out of the ship to check out the crash site. They were just so excited, this was a real crash, not that bumpy landing on Yardrat. This was a real crash and it had been awesome, even with all that screaming from Videl – _girls_.

"I said hold it!" Chichi glared at them.

"Aw, but, but…" they searched for an argument

"But nothing." She cut them off, she didn't have time for their nonsense. Videl didn't look so good. The poor girl looked like she'd been through a horrific death and back. "Videl, honey, do you need a drink?" she turned her attention to the shaken girl, she was as white as a sheet, and given how she'd died in that crash just over six months ago off Kwena mountain, Chichi couldn't exactly blame her.

"I'll take her to the kitchen mom and get her something to drink, hopefully it's not too damaged in there." Gohan slipped his arms underneath her and carried her to the kitchen.

"Bloody hell," Sekei grumbled, as he double checked the numbers, "this is not good."

"Do you know what happened?" Goku enquired, staring at the same screen as the astronaut, but unable to deduce anything from all the numbers and graphs flashing before their eyes. It looked kinda pretty though.

"This is bad. Looks like something blasted through the cargo bay in the lower deck and burned a hole through the aft fuselage. This is bad." He said again worriedly, actively pressing on the controls as if hoping that he wasn't seeing right.

"The cargo bay?" Chichi glared at the two guilty looking boys that were suddenly trying to sneak off again. "HOLD IT!" she stopped them in their tracks, "Were you boys using ki-blasts in the cargo bay?" she was suddenly upon them, her grip on their ears making them wince.

"It was Trunks!"

"It was Goten!"

They each spoke out at the same time, accusing one another with pointed fingers.

"Didn't I say NO BLASTS on the ship?" she couldn't believe this, they were supposed to be on their way home. And now, they had crashed on god knows where, and all because Goten and Trunks were probably just too bored to keep themselves in check.

"Can you fix it?" Vegeta snapped impatiently, this set back was unacceptable. Damn it all, he was sick of being on this ship. Too many years of his youth, of his life were spent cooped up on Frieza's metallic vessels or even worse, a tiny little space-pod for months on end. He did not like ships!

"It should be easy to replace the damaged parts with new ones, I'll just check for spares in the cargo bay and get cracking," the astronaut spoke with his hand on his forehead. He didn't have a gash or anything, but damn if he wasn't feeling dizzy from that bang. Why didn't his airbag go off? Damn, he needed a damn asprin.

"Hey, didn't you say that the blast originated from the cargo bay?" Goku asked,

Vegeta suddenly lost it. "Damn you brats, if you incinerated the spare parts to this insufferable tin contraption, there will be hell to pay!" he barked as he stormed off to his room. "Blasted satellite phone had better be working." He muttered.

"Vegeta's right, you two had no business firing ki-shots in the ship! Just you wait till this mess is over, I'll never feed either of you ever again!" Chichi yelled as she dragged them away by the corners of their ears.

As the boys paled at the threat, Goku also found himself cringing on their behalf. He knew what that was like…A lifetime without Chichi's yummy food. It wasn't fun. Them dragons sure were magical, but the food in their realm…he shuddered. Surely Chichi wouldn't be that cruel?

Or would she?

…

It was dusty, with no tar or paving on any of the streets. It was hot, with three deep orange suns glaring angrily at the barren planet. But perhaps the most noticeable fact to the group of earthlings; was how packed and crowded it was. The market was filled to the brim, the crowd thick and bustling, allowing very little room for maneuverability.

"Wow," Videl remarked, as she walked alongside Gohan and the two boys. She couldn't believe all the different species and breeds of aliens on this planet.

As it turned out, Trunks and Goten _had_ blasted through the shelves holding the capsules containing the spare parts in the cargo bay, and the ship had one extra hole in it as well, courtesy of Vegeta. The short prince had been so outraged at the realization that they were possibly stranded that he'd slammed his fist into the ship's wall.

Now they had two things that needed fixing.

"Wow is right," Gohan remarked. There were so many species co-inhabiting the same planet he observed, as they pushed their way through the crowded market.

Upon realizing how large and disorganized the market was, the group had decided to split into two to double their chances of finding the necessary parts. Goku, Sekei and Chichi went one way, with Gohan, Videl and the boys going another. Vegeta had plain refused to leave the ship, which was probably good, considering the number of aliens here; any one of them could have recognized him and caused a panic in remembrance.

The earthlings barely had enough room to walk, and everywhere they passed, they encountered stalls of merchandise, each held by different looking alien species. Even with their slightly different attire, nobody even noticed or looked at them twice; they just blended in with the masses. The planet was just too diverse with its population for their little group to stick out as 'aliens'.

"Look at those beautiful statues at the top of all these pillars." Videl stopped for a minute to admire the tall winged statue gazing down at them from the top of a very wide and high concrete pillar. There seemed to be one pillar and one statue overlooking each section of the market. The statue was all grey baring the beautiful multicolored wings sprouting from its back. It was also very tall with an extremely long and slender neck that bent forward like a herbivorous dinosaur. The head was small and littered with a thin row of grey feathers and the statue had no visible nose, just holes and a mouth resembling a black beak. It was truly well crafted, very life like.

"Hah hah, that's no statue silly, it's a bird; can't you sense its ki?" Goten stared up at it. He was tempted to levitate into the air and see if he could pull out a feather from its large beautiful wings.

"That's no bird stupid. That's a dinosaur." Trunks begged to differ.

"Bird!"

"Dinosaur!"

"It's a bird Trunks, dinosaurs don't have feathers!"

"It's a dinosaur Goten, birds don't have scales and skin like that. I come from good scientific stock, you should listen to me."

"The boys are right." Gohan interrupted their banter. "It's definitely not a statue." He confirmed by sensing out its ki. The whole situation felt a bit weird to him though, knowing that it was alive, and just gawking down on all of them like that, without any movement, not even a twitch in its feathers. What was it and what was its deal? And not just this one, but all of them. There was one in every section of the market.

"If you Hulids are gonna keep staring at the emperor's officers, please do so somewhere else. I don't want any trouble on my stall." A nearby alien selling what looked like strange rocks cautioned them.

"Huh?" Gohan blinked in confusion. He was getting used to being called a 'Hulid', the Qeruxian's had referred to them with the same term.

"You must be new refugees if you don't know about the emperor's officers. They're the law on this planet, bred for no other purpose. I'd caution you to stay out of their way." He spoke as he grabbed a cloth and continued to polish his 'rocks'.

"Bred?" Videl had to ask.

"Yes, in the laboratories. Their planet was purged by saiyans a long time ago." The stall keeper said nonchalantly.

Videl gasped, and Gohan's eye twitched. Even though he had already told Videl some of his heritage, he hadn't really gone into the details of just how the rest of the universe would always remember his kind and why. He didn't want her to see him as anything but the Son Gohan she knew him to be.

"The remainder of their kind, the ones taken as labor and pleasure slaves eventually died off at the hands of Freeza and his men," the alien went on to explain conversationally, "but luckily the emperor's scientists were able to preserve their DNA and breed them."

"That's awful!" Videl couldn't believe this. It was one thing to know that Gohan had gone off to space to fight a tyrant named Frieza. But to actually put a face to the victims and the atrocities committed was just a bit different, it felt more…real.

"Yeah, well, we all have our sad stories I suppose. See, back then, the Masiba were always known and admired for their strength and integrity in the conglomerate. No amount of coercion from Frieza was ever able to turn them; they plain refused to serve in his army. Poor guys, their stubborn integrity bought them nothing but a gruesome death." He shook his head. "So, when Frieza fell, the new Emperor of the conglomerate thought they'd make the perfect law officer, so he sought their DNA and began the breeding them in the labs."

"Wow," Videl remarked. The perfect law officer, that's exactly what the earth needed.

"Yeah, they're pretty dedicated, especially since they've come out sterile and asexual, the whole lot of them. All they have in their lives is the law that's instilled into them from day one. They're good guys most of the time, but break the law though, and you'll see the ugly side of them. They're whole existence revolves around preserving it."

"That sounds pretty smart. They're strong enough to be intimidating and hold their own, but with enough integrity to be fair and incorruptible." Gohan decided on the spot that he liked this 'Emperors' vison.

"They're too inflexible in their ways if you ask me." The stall keeper shrugged, changing the arrangement of his display of rocks just a tad. "So, what are you folks looking for anyway? I have the best moliehi imitation rocks on the planet. I'll give you a good price if you buy ten or more."

"Err…no thanks. See, our ship kinda crashed here, so we're hoping to find some parts." Gohan declined honestly. Since the stall keeper had already said that this was a planet of refugees, he figured no one here would care that they'd just landed.

"Ah, I see. Well, you travelers won't find anything like that here. Press on in the same direction until you get to the deep market. You'll find your supplies there."

"Thank you. We really appreciate it." Gohan waved as they pressed on.

"Some of them look like just like us Gohan," Videl observed just as one of them shoved past her, making her lose her balance.

"A lot of species have similar characteristics to humans and saiyans, I saw many that looked human on my first trip to space." he remembered some of Freeza's soldiers, and especially Jeice and Racoombe from the Ginyu force.

"It's pretty weird that you're an alien you know, especially a saiyan." Videl remarked with a frown.

"Me too!" Goten butted in, "and so is Trunks!" he declared proudly.

"Well, we're as much alien as we are human you know, half-half. So don't you boys be forgetting _that_." He reminded them. He never wanted Videl to forget that he was just as human as he was saiyan.

"There's too much extreme variety here for all of them to be natives. You think they're _all_ refugees from hundreds of planets destroyed by Frieza?" Videl wondered out loud, as she stared at a stall with three small children playing in the background. None of them seemed to be even remotely similar in physical attributes. Comparing a zebra and a giraffe would have been closer.

"Slaves, refugees, you never know. It probably has something to do with Frieza though." Gohan said absently. Why couldn't they find what they were looking for? So many stalls, so much crap up for sale, and yet, they had not seen one place housing what they needed the most.

"I guess," she shrugged, and they walked on, eyes alert, trying to find a stall that could possibly stock the right items.

…

On the other side of the market, Goku, Sekei and Chichi hadn't had any luck either. Chichi was finding the temperature unbearable, even though she had changed out of her regular gi outfit, opting for a simple plain white summer dress. The fabric was light, and it only extended down to her knees. Her inner thighs were damp with sweat, and as they walked, she was hoping they'd come across a stall with hats or umbrellas. Anything to shield herself from these three suns.

"Hey! I know that guy!" Goku beamed happily, immediately changing direction. "Excuse me…sorry…coming through!" he pushed his way through the crowd in a high pitched voice, Sekei and Chichi tagging along behind him.

"Ledgic! Man, it's good to see you!" Goku beamed at the teal skinned alien.

"Do I know you?" the teenager behind the stall stared impassively at the slightly shorter Hulid looking man with dark spiky hair.

"It's me, it's Goku!"

"Goku?" he furrowed his brow in thought, with the crease extending all the way to the top of his large, bald head. Chichi couldn't help by stare at the scatter of thick black dots on the folds of his head as well as the ones on his exposed torso. "Sorry, I've never heard of you." Ledgic said impassively. "Now, are you going to buy something?" he prompted

"Wha'da ya mean Ledgic, we fought on Imecka, don't you remember?" Goku turned wounded eyes up at the slightly taller alien. Sekei on the other hand, was just fascinated. He was drinking in all the sights. The three suns were fascinating, and so were the oddly coloured plants. He was recording everything, and he was just so happy to have the dialogue between Goku and the alien up close and personal, recording it for his archives with his miniature camera dangling around his neck.

"Err…Goku," Chichi pulled on his sleeve, when she saw how wounded he looked by the teal alien's rejection. "That hasn't technically happened yet, remember?" she whispered for his ears only.

"Hasn't happened?" he stared, drawing a blank. "But I remember, he was that guy's bodyguard, the one that was ripping off all his people. Don't you remember Chi, I told you about this. Trunks, Pan and I were on the wanted list and we…oh…OH!" realization dawned, finally.

"Exactly," Chichi nodded, "Technically, it never happened, _yet_."

"Well gee Ledgic, I guess we haven't met after all." He pouted. "But you grow up to be pretty strong you know, a real good fighter. Just try not to side with the bad guys this time round in the future, hey?" he gave him a sly smile.

Large veins were beginning to pulse from the impatient teenagers large folds. "If you're not gonna buy, please move on. I don't know you and I don't know what you're talking about." Was his hostile and rather dismissive response.

"Come on Goku, we're supposed to be looking for spare parts." Chichi grabbed his sleeve and steered him away.

Goku took a few steps in a different direction with his fingers tapping his chin contemplatively. "Come to think of it, this planet kinda reminds me of Imecka." Goku decided.

"Really?"

"Well yeah, same stuff really. It's overcrowded, lot'sa dusty streets. And hey, good thing that Launch isn't here, heh heh heh, and look-" he pointed at a random person, "most folks are wearing head turbans. Yep, it definitely reminds of-"

"NO! My camera! My camera!" Sekei suddenly screamed, as out of nowhere, a skinny lime alien boy ripped his camera from where it was hanging on his neck. "Come back here you thief!" he yelled after the boy as he broke into a sprint. The little tyke was really skinny and tiny so he was able to maneuver himself through the thick crowd with impressive speed and skill.

"Don't just stand there Goku! Get that little thief!" Chichi shrieked, pushing Goku to follow behind Sekei, whose form was already disappearing in the crowd.

"I'm going, I'm going." Goku dashed forward, leaving Chichi standing in the crowd alone.

…

"Gohan, can we stop somewhere for food? Or at least go back to the spaceship and eat, I'm hungry." Goten whined. They had been walking and walking, but they were yet to reach this elusive deep market in the city-centre. Trunks and Goten were bored and hungry, and that was not a good combination.

"I'm pretty hungry too squirt. Looks like we might have to stay the night here, and hit the market bright and early tomorrow."

"Yeah, okay. I just wanna eat something. We didn't even have breakfast." His tummy grumbled in agreement.

"Right. Let's head back. Let me send a signal to Dr Doi's satellite receiver so they can know that we're heading back to the ship." He spoke as he pulled out the device from his pocket. Since they couldn't use cell-phones, Bulma had developed little receivers for them using the satellite they had on their ship to transmit signals. They could always fly in the direction of their father's ki, but they had yet to see anyone flying on planet.

…

The creaking of the large ceiling fan as it spun round and round, generating too little air to have any lasting cooling effect in the large decrepit hall, coupled by low murmurs from a few on lookers were the only audible sounds as Chichi clenched her fist.

"I said," she narrowed her eyes, her nostrils twitching in anger and indignation; "I am not a prostitute!"

"Tell that to the judge lady. You were sported from tower eighty-seven standing in a provocative dress and stance in the middle of the market. You were caressing your thighs, glancing around, and showing off the muscles of your legs as you tried to get male attention." The gray alien with curved wings and an odd protruding mouth spoke calmly from behind his desk.

"I was NOT! I was hot and sweaty so I briefly wiped at my thighs. I wasn't showing off any muscles, I was standing on tip-toe to see if I could spot my husband and my friend. Like I said, they went chasing after a thief!" her yell filled the large hall.

"Right. Your _husband._ Good one." he said dryly and continued to write.

"It's the truth." She retorted indignantly

"Then where is your mark of matrimony?" he quirked his brow, his eyes lingering to her wrists.

"My w-what?" she stammered and stared at his grey and bumpy chicken skin. He was odd looking compared to what she was used to. Something about his protruding beak like lips making her think of an ostrich. Of course, the wings sprouting from his back didn't do much to deter her from that line of thought.

"Your Hulid matrimonial mark, where is it?" The emperor's officer enquired.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about, but I have a ring, see…" she held out her hand for his perusal.

"Count two." He dropped his eyes back to his docket, shaking his head as if in disbelief. "Trying to bribe an officer of the emperor with some kind of unknown jewel." He said calmly as he jotted more words down on the little docket he was holding.

"WHAT? I was NOT! And for your information, it's a diamond!" her voice continued to elicit the interest of the other officers and detained individuals.

"Right then. I've heard enough." He placed a thick brown gooey paste on the docket and slammed a stamp on it before looking up at her again. "You will appear before his emperor's judge in two weeks as case number one hundred and sixty four. In the meantime you'll be escorted to the waiting pad on the roof where you will await transportation. You will be held in the Hulid female working camps until judgment has been passed on you."

"Hulid…Working…Camps?"

"Yes, that's your speciesial breed is it not? You're Hulidian?" his brow less eyes roamed over her figure.

"I don't even know what that is! I am a human being. Human, not Hulidian. And I am not a prostitute!" she declared again, pulling down on the hem of her white summer dress, in an effort to make it look longer.

"Human? Never heard of it." he said thoughtfully. "Sadly many native breeds have never even been heard of in our society. I guess you're a second generation purge refugee?" He almost looked sympathetic. Almost

"A what now?

"Your kind, humans as you so proclaim. You must come from the slave remnants of a purged planet."

"My planet is perfectly in-tact, thank you very much!"

"No need to be defensive, most of this planet is made up of refugees. You're lucky that all Hulids can interbreed, no matter their specific origins. Some of us are not so lucky." He said bitterly.

"You're not listening to me. I am _not_ a Hulid. I am _not_ a prostitute, I am a human being, and my husband will…"

"Escort!" he suddenly cut her off with his loud yell. The very same 'officer' that had swooped down from his pillar and arrested her in the market stormed into the room and dragged her away to the waiting pad. Chichi screamed, "let go of me you ugly fowl, let GO!" but his wings just spread out and encased her in a pseudo cocoon. No matter how she struggled, kicked and bit, the damn wings, flexible as they were, were like solid rock inside. She was trapped. "You're gonna be sorry when my husband and son's get their hands on you, let me go! I am not a PROSTITUTE!" she yelled all the way up the long flight of stairs, and up to the waiting pad.

…

"I don't know what to tell you son, she was right here." Goku glanced around worriedly.

"I can't sense her, can you pick up her ki dad?" Gohan strained his eyes over the turban heads in the crowd, but he couldn't spot his mother, nor sense her.

With a furrowed brow, Goku spread out his senses as far as he could, but he got nothing.

"I can't sense her," he frowned, his usually cheerful face devoid of all amusement. "Something's wrong."

"We have to find her Gohan, she could get lost. There's so many people here." Goten said worriedly, hugging his brother's leg.

"We'll find her Goten, I'm sure she's just...um..." He came short with an explanation.

"I'm sure she's just playing hide and seek Goten, she's probably just hiding, waiting to be found." Videl winged it, hell, she had no idea how gullible a seven year old was supposed to be, but by the look Trunks shot in her direction, she figured she might have missed the mark, just a tad. He wasn't fooled in the least.

"You think so?" Goten looked up at her hopefully. Okay, so maybe there was a difference between being seven and eight, she thought, as she crouched down to Goten's level to give him a reassuring smile. "Probably," she ruffled his hair the way she had seen Goku and Gohan do. Her reward, "Alright! Let's GO! Let's GO!" Goten hopped up and down.

"Where do we start dad?" Gohan looked to his father for answers.

"I think I have an idea." Goku said, as he began to walk purposefully back in the direction of Ledgic's stall.

...

"Wake up lady?" A soft unfamiliar voice urged. Chichi groaned and fluttered her eyelids as the voice was promptly accompanied by some soft nudging.

"Wake up Lady." It insisted more urgently, breaking through the barriers of her drug induced fog.

"Wha...where am I?" She opened her eyes and frowned, when the smell of stale urine, feces and bad breath assailed her. Instinctively, she brought up her arm and pinched her nose. "Where am I? What is this place?"

"Hulid Work Camp, Section 19. They brought you in last night." Green curious eyes stared up at her from a round dirty face.

"WHAT?" She screeched and hopped to her feet, landing into somewhat of a squishy puddle, as all traces of fogginess immediately left her.

"But how did I even get here?" She looked around the small and obviously dirty enclosing.

The plump dirty girl straightened up to her full length, which wasn't much and stared at this strange newcomer "The usual way, the gas transport." She informed Chichi

"G-Gas?"

"Come on Lady! You must know how it works. They put you in the waiting pad and gas you, when you pass out they load you all up and pile all the detainees for the day in heaps in the air-transport, and then they bring you here."

"In h-heaps?" she croaked, just what the hell kind of planet was this? Couldn't they use cuffs like regular people?

"Yeah, heaps. Saves space and all that. Anyway, you got a pimp to bail you out or what? I don't have one, maybe you could set me up with yours?" her pudgy face looked up to her hopefully

"PIMP! I don't know any pimps. I am NOT a prostitute!" she declared for the billionth time. _Oh Goku, why haven't you used your abominable instant transmission to find me? Just wait till I get my hands on you!_

"You're not?" the girl sounded surprised as she gave her yet another once over. "But you're in section 19; it's reserved for us whores." She blinked up at her.

Chichi could only smack her face with her hand, honestly what was the point of even talking to this girl? She was clearly self-proclaimed.

"I'm guessing it's your first time in the camps then?" the girl enquired conversationally.

"Your guess would be correct, and believe me it will be short lived and the very, very last time too. And what the hell is that smell?" She swiveled around, taking big sniffs of the dirty air around her.

"What smell?" Green eyes followed her every gesture curiously.

"Don't tell me you can't smell that! It stinks. And what the hell is this puddle that I got my shoes in?"

"What else would it be, it's liquid release."

"Liquid what?" Chichi wondered out loud.

But instead of giving her clarity, the plump green eyed girl poked her face through the metallic bars. "Hear that, they're coming." She whispered.

…

"Finally," Gohan said tiredly, rubbing his eyes as he sat up. They had sat outside the detainment centre all night, waiting for it to open. Upon discovering that Chichi was missing, Goku had gone back to Ledgic's stall, questioning the teal and black-spotted alien about his wife. Ledgic had disinterestedly explained that the Hulid female had been arrested by the emperor's officers for prostitution.

_"Prostitution? What's that?" Goku had blinked in confusion._

And a red-faced Gohan had been the one burdened with the task of having to explain to his father just what a prostitute was.

_"WHAT?" his eyes had bulged out. "Chichi wouldn't do that!" he had exclaimed in shock._

Unfortunately by the time Ledgic had begrudgingly taken them to the detainment centre, the place had already been closed.

Goku had simply sat down, shoulders slumped feeling helpless. He couldn't sense her, so he couldn't just IT to her location and get her. He didn't know where she was, even though Ledgic had explained about the gas-transport and the 'working camps'. There were hundreds, he'd said, and she could have been taken to anyone one of them.

Gohan had opted to take Sekei, Goten, Trunks and Videl back to the ship, returning later to keep his father company. They were both extremely worried, but save of resorting to threats and violence per Vegeta's advice, there wasn't much they could do.

_"Tear the planet apart and find her Kakarot! Put your fist in anyone that tries to stop you. I would." The saiyan prince had advised him._

"Can I help you?" the desk officer raised his head, his wings curled around him, as his hands moved around, straightening the paperwork on his table.

"Yes." Gohan spoke up, "I think there's been a terrible mistake. My mom was arrested yesterday in the market for prostitution, and that can't be right. She was just waiting for my dad here," he tapped Goku's shoulder, "and a friend to return from chasing a thief."

"Name?" the desk officer grabbed a stack of papers

"Err…Chichi, Son Chichi." Goku spoke up

"So you're a bastard then?" the desk officer said matter of factly, addressing Gohan.

"What?" Goku and Gohan spoke at the same time

"Your father," the desk officer spoke, his eyes fixed on Goku's wrists. "He doesn't have the Hulidian matrimonial mark, which means your parents are not legally married according to the laws of the conglomerate, which is an offense. Making you a bastard, you know the law." He spoke nonchalantly as he pulled out a form from his stack.

"That's not true. My parents have been married for years!" Gohan declared indignantly.

"This is her docket. As you can see here," he tapped his pen at a paragraph, "She broke all four laws of Hulid appropriate behavior. Her hearing is in two weeks. She is being held at work camp fourty-four, section 19. You may take this matter up with them." He ran the docket under a device with a bright green light, and a copy came out. "If you can prove that you're indeed married, then she'll be released into your custody before her hearing." He said calmly, handing the copy he'd just made to Goku. "Good-day." He dismissed them. "NEXT!"

…

"Chichi wiped the sweat of her brow and lifted the heavy tool up into the air once again. With all the strength she could master, she brought it down to the rock and hacked and hacked away at it. _I'm gonna make you pay for letting me rot in this place for so long Son Goku, just you wait and see._

"Move it!" a camp keeper yelled just behind her. "I want three bags of crushed moliehi by the end of this day."

"Urgh!" Chichi screamed as she lifted her tool back up into the air, only to rain it down on the surface of the moliehi rock. The abominable thing was tough, it made splitting wood with her axe back at her home seem like polishing her nails. _Three bags? Is he kidding me, do I look like some kind of super-saiyan?_

"No whining!" he shoved his head in her face. "The only sound I want to hear around here, is of breaking rock, understand?" he glared at her, "save the whimpering for your day job, disgusting Hulid whore." He spat.

Chichi halted, her nostrils twitching as her grip tightened around the moliehi tool. Her eyes slid up, glaring at the camp keeper defiantly. How much more of this was she supposed to put up with? They had dragged her from her cell and forced her into a dirty and torn rag that was supposed to be a camp 'uniform', and the thing stank. They had dragged her again, and forced a hot lazer beam on her arm, tattooing a number on her skin like she was some kind an animal. They had forced a tool on her, dragging her out here to work under the blazing suns on an empty stomach to crash this rock, and now this…urgh…this ugly, bumpy skinned, gray bastard of a fowl had the audacity to insult her.

Well, Chichi had heard just about enough.

"I am Not. !" she seethed; and the camp keeper felt the sharp edge of the moliehi tool crash against his temple. He went down immidiately, crumbling on the floor, his wings wrapping themselves protectively around his body.

In an instant Chichi found herself completely surrounded by more of the puckered lipped, winged bastards. They were large in comparison to her, but she was done being complacent. The first one charged her, and Chichi was ready. She may not be as strong as the rest of her family, but she wasn't without training. She dodged his advance and whacked him with the heavy moliehi tool across the cheek. Just like his comrade, he went down, fast.

"Get her!" they all charged her at once, and though she was able to dodge a few of them, in the end a large gray fist connected with her cheek, sending her crashing onto the hard moliehi ground. A foot kicked up her face and turned her over on her side. Painfully an iron grip twisted her arms behind her back, as it pulled her up, forcing her to her knees.

"You stupid whore. Do you know the penalty for assaulting the emperors camp keepers?" A rather bulky camp keeper stepped forward, glaring darkly at her. His usually curled wings spreading slightly to the side, pulsing as if in aggravation.

Chichi laughed, and spit out the blood that was pooling from her mouth. "Do _you_ know the penalty for assaulting the wife and mother of the strongest beings in the universe?"

"Insolent Hulid Whore," he smacked her down again with the tip of his large wings as he snapped his long neck to turn his attention to the rest of the camp workers. "What are the rest of you loose holed whores staring at? GET BACK TO WORK!" his wings spread out fully, pulsing up and down as he glared angrily.

The group of spectators all turned around, picked up their moliehi tools and began hacking away at the rock. They all knew the penalty for breaking the camp rules, none of them envied the dark haired woman.

Chichi groaned as she picked herself up. _Damn you Goku, of all the times to slack about with your abominable IT, you chose now, really? _She could feel the pool of sweat on her forehead, on her back and between her thighs. It was so hot now, all three suns finally out of hiding, making the hard rock her knees were resting on burn into her skin. She was tired, hungry, and worst of all, she was filthy, probably stank just as badly as the containment cell she had woken up in. She hated the filth more than the pain of being stricken down.

"Strip her, and take her to the-"

"Camp Keepers! Camp Keepers! Mains calling all camp Keepers." The loud speaker boomed throughout the working grounds. "Please escort detainee one, six, four to mains immediately. That is detainee, one, six, four."

The bulky camp keeper grabbed Chichi's arm roughly and turned it over, scowling as he glanced at the fresh number tattooed on her skin. "Saved by the bell." He breathed into her face, "but not for long." He dropped her arm unceremoniously, "on your feet, they want to see you at mains." He ordered, and practically hauled her up, dragging her across the working grounds.

…

"I still think I should have just used instant transmission to snatch her and get back to the ship." Goku frowned. He was beginning to lose his patience now. They had been waiting in this 'mains' room for a while now, and unlike the day before, he could now sense his wife clearly within the vicinity. He wanted to lock onto her position and snatch her up, period.

"And then what dad? Have mom become a fugitive? You as well? That could stir a whole lot of trouble, and we haven't even found the missing part for the ship yet. As fugitives, we won't be able to accomplish much." Gohan tried to reason with his dad. Hell, he was worried too, but as long as there was a chance that they could get his mother out without causing trouble, without having to hurt lots and lots of innocent officers for just trying to do their jobs, he was okay with waiting for just a bit longer.

"What's taking so long then, I know she's in there, I can sense her." Goku paced impatiently around the mains waiting room.

"Just take a breath dad, I'm sure they'll…MOM!" Gohan exclaimed in horror when he saw his mother being dragged in by one of the winged officers. "MOM, what did they do to you?" he phased in before her, wrapping his arm around her waist in support. "Gohan," she said tiredly, a small smile gracing her lips as she slumped forward.

"I've got her son," Goku said gently, as he promptly lifted her up into his arms. "ChiChi?" dark concerned eyes stared at her.

"You!" she tried to wiggle out of his arms. "What took you so long Son Goku?" she yelled at him, writhing even though she knew it would be fruitless to escape if he chose to keep holding her.

"But Chichi, I couldn't sense you the whole of yesterday. You know I would'a come sooner if I could." He defended himself in a whiny voice, but his features suddenly took on a serious expression. "You're hurt." He stated, touching the bruise on her cheek before he swiped his thumb across her split lip. His body tensed up, his face scrunching as his eyes narrowed.

"Ahem," a desk officer cleared his throat. "Please put the detainee down sir," he advice. "Now, let's look into this alleged marriage, I'm afraid without the matrimonial mark, I won't be able to release her into your custody. She will have to stay in the camp until her hearing. If she is found innocent, she will be released on that day."

"I'm taking her." Goku said matter of factly, "don't try to stop me." He spoke as he took a few steps towards the door they'd come in.

"Sir, if you try to leave with the detainee, I'm afraid we'll be compelled to use for-"

"Eep!" he yelped, when he suddenly found himself pressed against the wall with his feet dangling. "Force?" Gohan finished his sentence for him. "Someone struck my mother, and you're gonna tell me who." He snarled. As far as he was concerned, there was no integrity in striking down his mother. So much for the emperor's theory.

"That would be me." The bulky camp keeper advanced to their location, and Gohan promptly dropped the desk officer on the floor. "She assaulted a camp keeper, so I put her in her pla…pooft!" he doubled over in pain as Gohan's fist embedded itself in his stomach. His wings rapidly pulsed and cocooned him protectively. "How dare you touch my mother?" The teen's temper hit the roof. How dare they assault his mother? How dare they? He never should have talked his father out of locking onto her and snatching her up.

"Come on son, let's get out of here." Goku kicked the door open, only to be met by a whole army of winged officers and camp keepers. He immediately frowned, he just wanted to get Chichi back to the ship before dealing with anything else. Now they were surrounded.

"Get us out of here dad, we don't want to fight these guys, they're just doing their job." Gohan relented to the use of IT. He was all for doing things within the guise of the law, but seeing his mother hurt like this, he couldn't give a rat's ass anymore.

"Right." Goku put two fingers to his forehead.

"Instant Transmission!" The leader of the winged officers yelled in alarm, and in an astonishing coordinated move, he leapt at Goku and touched him, the officer right behind him touching him in turn, and like a domino effect, the rest of the officers touched each other in an organized and clearly practiced fashion.

"Crap." Gohan swore, when they materialized outside their ship, only to have the whole army of winged officers appear alongside them. The army was slightly disoriented as they struggled for balance from the effects of the dematerialization. It took them a minute to gather themselves.

"Mom!" Goten jumped from his spot and leapt at his mother. "Mom, you're hurt! What happened?"

"A ship?" the leader of the winged officers exclaimed in shock at the sight. "You're all under arrest," he declared immediately. It was illegal to land on planet without declaring yourself. This bunch had broken several laws in one day. They had to be arrested and taken before the emperor's judge.

"Look, just go back to your camp, and leave us alone okay?" Gohan snapped. He wanted to attend to his mother, not fight off a group of alien law officers.

"I'd listen to him if I were you, we didn't come here looking for a fight." Goku tried to remain calm, though it was hard, seeing how they'd hurt Chichi.

"Surrender peacefully, or face the consequences." The leader declared. "Men, take the whole lot of them in."

"You're taking no-one. You already hurt Chichi." Goku warned them off. They were really pushing him now.

"Then you leave us no choice." The leader declared with a hand gesture. "Haaaahhh!" they all charged with a loud yell, and one by one they began to drop like flies as Gohan, Trunks and Goten kicked them around. The two boys were finally having some fun. This was great, though, at the back of his mind, Goten was wondering if his mom was okay. She was unnaturally quiet, just leaning against his dad like that. Gohan was careful not to hit too hard, he didn't want to leave any lasting damage.

One by one the Masiba dropped to the floor, and those who didn't pass out, scrambled to their feet for round two. "Come on men, in his emperor's name, I command you to fight...to the death!" Their leader yelled passionately as he limped back to attack.

Goku's eyes widened in disbelief. To the death? Was he insane? "Stop it. Stop it. STOP IT!" He yelled, "Nobody is fighting to the death. Nobody is dying today, okay? Chichi shouldn't have been arrested in the first place; she is not this promstition thing. Please just leave." He pleaded.

"Without the matrimonial mark, the law does not recognize her as your wife," the leader scrambled to his feet shakily, "and therefore, she may not be released into your custody," he wiped the trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. "We are therefore bound by oath to take her back, you too, for breaking out a detainee." He heaved, advancing.

"Trust me, you're not strong enough to fight us. Please, let this go so we can all go in peace." Goku begged him.

"We cannot disregard the law, come on men, get them!"

Gohan shook his head, remembering the words of the stall keeper. No wonder he'd called them uptight and inflexible. So much for the perfect law officer, these guys were not even reasonable.

"Wait. Just wait!" Goku stalled for time. "What if I give her the mark, would you leave us in peace then?" Goku asked, exasperated.

"Err…The law doesn't account for such a situation." The leader spoke out, "but with the appropriate mark, we would be forced to release her into your custody."

"Done!" Goku declared happily.

"Err…dad…um, we don't even know what this mark is." Gohan whispered in his father's ear.

"Oh yeah! Heh heh heh," he scratched his head. "So, what's this mark anyway?" he asked nonchalantly, and the group of saiyans watched as the emperor's officers all fell over in shock.

…

"There has to be another way Goku!" Chichi shrieked, pacing up and down their bedroom. She had taken a sensu and a much needed shower. She was fresh and full and ever grateful that the sensu took care of the number they had tattooed on her arm. "There just has to be another way!"

"Well yeah, we could knock them all out and stuff, but Gohan says that we'd all be fugitives and might not be able to show our faces in the market. I don't want to hurt anyone unnecessarily Chichi."

"But this ceremony is…it's…BARBARIC!" shivers ran down her spine by just the thought of it. Seriously, why? Why would anyone willingly do that?

"Aw, Chi, it's not so bad."

"Urgh!" She threw her hands up in the air. "Of course, everything is always fine with Son Goku!"

"Come on Chichi," he implored her with his dark eyes. "It will sting for just a second, and then it'll be over." He placed his hands on her shoulders and steadied her, all her pacing was making him dizzy.

Held in place in front of him, Chichi stared at his hopeful face. He really wanted to do this thing. "I just…I just don't feel comfortable doing this with you, not now." She shrugged out of his hands and turned away from him, her arms protectively wrapping themselves around her as she rubbed her arms. "Especially not now." She whispered.

"Chi?" he phased in front of her, tilting her chin to make her face him. "I know the last thing you want is to marry me again, but…" he cleared his throat. "We are on a mission to save the earth, we can't afford to get delayed on this planet, and we need to buy the damaged parts for the ship so we can get going. Who is going to sell to a bunch of wanted fugitives?" he stressed, remembering all too well how uncomfortable things had been on Imecka once him, Trunks and Pan were wanted. They had even gotten the old couple that had dared to help them in trouble. "This way, we won't have to use force to get our way, but I will, if you're really that opposed to going through this ceremony with me."

"I…"

"All those tall guys with wings have made all the arrangements. I think they know that if this comes down to a fight, they are sure to lose. They could let us go, but obviously being sworn to uphold this emperor's law is a big deal. Seems they'd rather die, than turn a blind eye." He took a deep breath, "They've even brought some kinda golden robes for you to wear, they're real pretty Chichi. Videl's holding on to them." He paused and gave her one last look. "I'll wait outside and give you a minute to decide." He dropped his finger from her chin and walked toward their bedroom door.

"Goku wait." She touched his arm, "I'll do it." she breathed, then yelped when he suddenly grabbed her and spun her in the air.

He felt so light and carefree at her words. "Alright! Let's do this! Let's get married!" he laughed and giggled, swinging her round and round. "GOKU!" she tried to be stern, there was no reason to get excited. This ceremony was just for show after all. As soon as they touched earth soil, Chichi was going straight to Fire Mountain. They had already agreed to break the news about the divorce to the kids, instead of prolonging this happily married charade. She opened her mouth to remind him of these facts, but her voice just broke into joyful glee instead, her laughter joining his as he continued to spin around with her in his arms before he set her down on the ground.

With the biggest grin she had ever seen on his face, Goku's eyes practically sparkled. "I'll tell Videl to bring the ceremonial robes, this is gonna be GREAT!" he dashed out the door.

…

Clap. Clap. ClapClap. Clap

Clap. Clap. ClapCLap. Clap

The rhythm was steady and continuous.

Clap. ClapClap. Clap

It was shocking just how many individuals had come to witness the spectacle in such short notice.

Clap. Clap. ClapClap. Clap

The guests or spectators were diverse in their species and they definitely painted a pretty picture in all their elaborate robes clothed on their varied skin colours, tones and even textures. In their various forms, shapes and sizes, they all had one main similarity though; they were all clapping in synch, in complete harmony, as they urged the ceremony on.

Chichi couldn't believe she was actually going through with this. It was positively insane! After years of loneliness and bitterness, all she wanted was to divorce her husband and start a new life. The last thing she wanted was to be standing on an alien planet, about to _marry_ him, again! _Why am I so nervous? It's not like this is real or anything, it's just a faux ceremony to appease the locals._

But no matter what she told herself, she couldn't stop her heart from beating a thousand beats a minute. She sat perfectly still in the very centre of a perfectly shaped circle made up of smooth magenta rocks with the rhythm of the clapping thumping in the pit of her stomach. Her hands were far from steady, but she sat anyway, her eyes following Goku's movements as he fumbled up the matrimonial dance he was supposed to be performing.

Clap. Clap. ClapClap. Clap

She didn't want to smile or giggle, but she did. Only Goku could look so adorable, while he was making a complete fool out of himself.

Clap. Clap. ClapClap. Clap

She was elegantly dressed up in fine robes of pale yellow adorned with hundreds of sparkling blue and magenta beads strewn in patterns across the fabric. Her dark hair which had started to grow over the months; was hidden in an elaborately twisted and piled up turban. The turban was of the same color and design as the robes. It made her look much taller than she really was, piled up high on her head like that. Initially she had protested against the face painting, but as different as it was from the typical earth make-up, once it was on her face, she couldn't deny how dazzling the symbols and their colors made her look.

Clap. Clap. ClapClap. Clap

She giggled again, as Goku missed a step in his clumsy trotting outside her circle of rocks. His own attire consisted of an elaborate sky blue turban twisted and piled up on his head, with many, many yellow and magenta jewels glistening in decoration on the fabric. His chest was bare except for the painted markings, which were supposedly divine matrimonial symbols of some sort. He was wearing a wrap weaved out of sky blue feathers from his waist down, with long slits on the sides to allow movement. The magenta rocks, Chichi's yellow attire and his own blue wrap were the official ceremonial colours for all Hulid marriages. The colors were chosen because they were symbolic of life. Magenta, blue, yellow - the three primary colours. These were the colors that mixed and blended with each other to create all other new colours; just as the hope was for the couple to wed, blending together as one, to create new Hulid offspring.

Clap. Clap. ClapClap. Clap.

He stumbled and almost fell, but this was Son Goku and his sense of balance was impeccable. He caught himself expertly, with a sheepish grin plastered on his face. Chichi couldn't help it, she giggled again, while everyone else made a few low chuckles.

He didn't seem to care or notice though, he was too busy grinning and occasionally waving at his sons as he mimicked, or at least tried to mimic the dance movements of the matrimonial dance master leading him.

It wasn't long before the dance was complete and the clapping stopped all together. The Moruti, who was deemed as a mortal representative of the holy three suns, stepped forward and asked Chichi if she was impressed by her suitors dancing.

"Yes." She replied giggling, as Goku stood outside the circle grinning with his hand scratching at the top of his head. What else was she going to say, he had looked absolutely adorable! Besides, she had to be impressed in order to move on to the next part of the ceremony.

"Then, he may join you in the circle." The Moruti declared, waving his hand in front of him as an indication for Goku to step inside. The crowd cheered enthusiastically, as if he had just accomplished something majestic.

"Finally, cool!" Goku ignored the path that was being cleared for him, and just jumped over the magenta rocks, straight into the circle.

He sat down in his spot next to Chichi, with the two of them facing the Moruti. He felt giddy and foolish and excited all at once. Giddy that Chichi had actually agreed to this, foolish that he was wearing what he classified as a skirt in earth terms, and excited to get to the part where they would be declared.

"Son Goku, do you take this Hulid female of planet Earth, who has already borne two sons named Goten and Gohan to be your one true wife, right here under the three holy suns?"

"I do."

"Son Goku, do you promise to co-inhabit with her in the same dwelling, to provide for her, to protect her, to put her needs and happiness above all others, even at the cost of your own, as it is written under Hulidian law?

"Err…I-I…do"

"Do you pledge eternal fidelity to her, even after your souls have left the mortal realm, in the ultimate spiritual journey to the holy sun?"

"Err…as in otherworld?" he blinked and stared at the matrimonial giver.

"What?" The moruti blinked at the unexpected response.

"As in when we die and go to otherworld you know," Goku elaborated.

"I do not know of this otherworld you speak off. It is written that all souls reunite with the three goddesses residing in the holy suns upon their deaths."

"But-" he began to argue, but Chichi jabbed him in the ribs, "let it go Goku," she whispered.

"Err…I guess I do then, heh heh heh," he grinned

The Moruti gave him a stern look and continued, "You may now pledge your commitment by the life force flowing through your veins." He declared as he outstretched his hand. His assistant came forward and opened a wooden box containing a shiny zig-zagged knife. The Moruti grabbed the knife and raised it up to the first sun and began to chant some incomprehensible words. He nodded to the sun, then raised the knife up to the second and third suns in the same routine.

Chichi watched as the knife reflected the rays of the three different suns in all directions and swallowed. This was definitely the part of the ceremony she wasn't going to enjoy.

"Your wrists please." The Moruti made a hand gesture that signaled them to rise to their feet as he spoke. Goku stood up first and offered Chichi a hand up. Ordinarily she wouldn't have trouble getting up on her own, but in all the layers of fabric wrapped around her body to form the perfect shape of the matrimonial robes, it was a tad challenging.

Steady on her feet, she gulped, and brought forward her left wrist. She was trembling, even though she kept telling herself that she was tough, and that this whole ceremony was just for show anyway. The Moruti made a very swift, but very light diagonal incision with the knife across her wrist, and as the red blood began to ooze out, Goku promptly brought her wrist to his mouth and began to suck at the blood, his eyes watching her face intently.

Chichi winced and moaned all in one, the incision stung, but Goku's hot mouth on her was making her tremble in something other than trepidation. She was surprised that he didn't cringe in disgust at having to drink her blood, he just seemed to get on with it, if not enjoy it.

"Your wrist please." The Moruti addressed Goku this time, and Chichi had to be the one to suck on his wrist. She didn't particularly enjoy it, the coppery taste of blood was abundant, making her wish she was sucking on anything other than his blood. Thankfully, she didn't have to do it for long.

"By the essence of your life force, the grace of the three suns, and the power invested in me by the emperor, I declare you here, on this day, as husband and wife." The announcement was followed by an eruption of cheers.

"Son Chichi you may now kiss your husband. Let everyone here and all across his emperor's conglomerate of planets know, that from this day forth, this Hulid male, Son Goku, now belongs to you." he announced almost happily, giving the duo the first real smile since the whole ceremony had began.

Chichi flushed, it seemed that no matter what, she was bound to be the one to make the first move in this relationship. Her stomach twisted in a knot, she couldn't exactly not kiss him, the cheers demanded it, and it would look odd if the new bride refused to kiss her husband. She stepped on tip-toe and brought his face down to hers with her hands and planted a soft kiss on his mouth. She fully intended to step away after, but Goku had other ideas. He snaked his arms around her, lifted her off the ground ever so slightly and pressed his whole body into hers.

She didn't want to kiss him. She didn't want to kiss him, but oh, it felt so good as his tongue pushed itself into her mouth. She lost the battle with her self control and closed her eyes, allowing herself to get lost in the moment. It was just a fake ceremony after all, what could one fake kiss hurt?

…

So much dancing! So much twirling and laughing, she was getting dizzy and her feet hurt. She didn't think much of them at first, but these winged officers sure knew how to have a good time. It seemed there was no end to this matrimonial ceremony! She had thought that the whole thing ended with the kiss, but no! It had just been the beginning.

There was the eating, which was highly embarrassing for her. Goku had to lie down on some kind of structure made out of rock, with little sparkling fruits called lijo, planted in a star on his torso. The new bride had to eat all the fruit pieces blind-folded and without using her hands, while the onlookers cheered and guided her. The number of fruit she was able to eat before accidentally tipping some to the fruit to the floor with her face, was meant to indicate the number of children the woman was going to bare. Chichi already had her two sons, and since she ate a total of six fruit, she was expected to produce four more children. The whole thing was absurd, and it really didn't help that when she'd finally removed the cloth around her eyes, she had glanced up to find that his dark eyes were fixed hungrily on her, clouded in that predatory mist that most people wouldn't think Son Goku capable of.

The eating was followed by the crazy dancing, which went on and on and on, while they waited for the last of the suns to set. Now that darkness was finally setting in, the newlyweds were pushed inside the ship with loud bouts of cheers to share their bodies as they'd shared their blood. The party was to continue outside, the 'guests' singing and clapping, urging them on. It was completely preposterous to her, even though she found herself completely swept away by the ambiance.

She was fully expecting him to set her down on the floor as soon as the space-ship door closed behind them. They were alone now, so they didn't have to keep up appearances anymore. But Goku marched straight to their room and laid her down on the bed. His painted chest was glistening ever so slightly from the heat of the suns and all the maniac native dancing they had participated in.

"Goku what are you-" He silenced her with a kiss as he stretched his body over hers. Chichi stared up at him with wide eyes, her heart as loud as the clapping outside. "I'm kissing my wife," he said with finality, his mouth moving over hers without asking.

Chichi wrapped her arms around his neck and allowed herself to get lost in the madness. The elaborate turban on her head was the first item to go as he trailed hot kisses on her neck. She arched into him and moaned, unable to stop the spread of fire as it burned through her blood. "Chi," he moaned into her mouth, as his hands trailed over the layers of robes wrapped around her. He searched frantically for a way to carefully remove the clothing, but it just wasn't possible. With a growl, he gripped on to the fabric and ripped it off her body.

…

Chichi groaned and opened her eyes.

"Morning," came the husky voice of her husband, who was propped up on his elbow on the bed, staring at her with soft eyes. Chichi rubbed her eyes and tilted her face towards him. And as realization of her antics of the night before dawned on her. She turned fearful eyes at him and froze.

"What's wrong?" His eyes roamed over her face worriedly.

"Oh no!" She covered her face with her hands. _What's wrong with me? Why can't I keep my damn legs closed around him!_

"What's wrong Chichi?" he uncovered her face, his eyes seeking an explanation in hers.

She scooted away from him, cursing herself out in her head. _What was I thinking? I wasn't even drunk or drugged this time, I was perfectly sober. What's wrong with ME?_

"Chichi?" Lightly he touched her bare shoulder.

"That whole ceremony was a bit overwhelming for me. It-It…confused me." She stammered as she rubbed at her wrist. It was still tender from the knife; she could see a clear pattern zigzagged like a bracelet around it. This stupid mark was the sole reason for the mess she'd gotten into. _Stupid, Hulid, Matrimonial Mark!_ The memory of Goku's mouth sucking on her wrist, sucking on her mouth, her neck, her breasts, her thighs, her…she shut her eyes. Her whole body tingled.

"I don't think I understand Chichi. I can read your feelings right now, you're not confused."

She bit her lip. "You're right Goku, I'm not confused." She admitted. "Last night was incredible. It was a beautiful ceremony and we shared a beautiful night, and I know I'll never forget it." she touched her hand to his cheek, "But it was still a mistake. Let's forget it ever happened, nothing's changed between us." she dropped her hand and pulled up the sheet to cover herself up.

"How can you say that?"

"I accept that a part of me will always, always…have feelings for you Goku; certainly I can't stop myself from being attracted to you, but you're no good for me, you never were."

"Don't say that Chi. I just want us to try and start over, like the first time we got married. We were so happy remember? I want to start over."

"I want to too. You have no idea how badly I want to Goku, and you know what that makes me?"

"Forgiving?"

"No, not forgiving Goku. It makes me INSANSE!" she swiveled her legs onto the floor and walked to the cupboard with the sheet pulling off the bed.

"I don't know what-"

"Do you remember that scientist I wanted to name Gohan after?" She pulled out some shorts and tossed them at Goku, and then pulled out a robe and stormed into the bathroom.

"Hah?" Goku blinked in confusion as he reluctantly slipped on the shorts. "What scientist?"

"Einstein, do you remember the little Einstein books I got for Gohan?" Chichi peeked out her head as she slipped the robe on, abandoning the sheet on the bathroom floor.

"The guy with the huge hair?" Goku secured the shorts properly around his waist.

"Yes, that guy. He wasn't just the guy with the huge hair you know, he made some very significant scientific discoveries." She stepped out, tugging at the sash to make a huge bow.

"Okay,"

"My point is, he was very wise. A very wise man indeed, and do you know what he had to say about insanity?" She sat down next to him, the bed slightly sinking from the additional weight.

Goku just blinked.

"Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting to get a different result. That's the definition of insanity Goku." She spoke quietly, staring directly into his eyes. "I want to throw away all my fears and baggage from the past and just…be with you." She leaned forward and cupped his face. "I've tried to deny it, and I've tried to run away from it, but I…" she swallowed, the tips of her fingers slightly tingling. "I still love you." There she'd said it, she'd admitted it. Regretful as it was, it was the truth.

"Chichi," The admission took his breath away, something he had taken for granted for years, something she had always said to him in the past, yet hearing it now, after months of nothing but hate and spite from her lips was better than the effects of the first wave of a sensu bean after a fierce battle. He placed his forehead against hers, "I love you too, Chi. I never stopped, not even once in these past thirty-five years, I beg you to believe me." All he could hear was the simultaneous thudding of their hearts.

"I believe you Goku, I believe you." She exhaled, closing her eyes momentarily as their foreheads continued to touch.

"I meant everything they made me repeat in the ceremony yesterday. I'll do things differently. I know better now. I won't ever leave you. If I have to leave for some reason, I'll just take you with me this time. I won't hurt you again Chichi. Please, give me a chance to prove it to you."

Sincerity could very well be defined as the look in his eyes. It was the worst thing in the world to know that he meant what he said, and yet, also know, that because of who he was, he was destined to never be able to keep those promises, no matter how much he may want to. It was the most painful thing in the world.

"I can't." She pulled away. This kind of pain…she had thought she was all tapped out. She had thought that her feelings for him were incapable of this kind of pain anymore. She had clearly been wrong. "I know you mean what you say right now. I know you do," she looked away, "but something will come up and you'll leave me or die on me, or…" her voice cracked, "or…something else that I can't predict right now." She turned back to look at him, "You won't mean to hurt me Goku but you will."

"Chichi,"

"And when you do," she shushed him with her finger. "I won't survive it. Not this time." She tried to keep her voice steady, despite the raw and scratchy feeling in her throat. "I'm not making the same mistakes again." She shook her head at herself when a lone tear fell on her cheek. "I love you, so much." She wiped it off, and grabbed both his hands in hers. "So much," she placed her face against his chest as more tears continued to fall. "I can't stop myself," she clung to him, lifting her face up to meet his eyes. "And believe me I've been trying, I've been trying so hard not to love you again." A quiet sob erupted from her throat as she held on to him and cried; her tears warm and sticky on his chest.

_"Is momma gonna stop crying now?" Goten enquired, giving his father a hopeful look as the fish continued to sizzle by the fire._

_"When did she cry?" Goku asked, a lump growing in his throat._

_"All the time, for as long as I can remember, from before I was born I guess. She said your name a lot, mostly at night, when she thought we couldn't hear her"_

This was the worst of it for him, he could read it in her entire being, she loved him, and she was hurting because of it. She was always hurting because of it. It was hurting her so much that he wished he could press a button and make her stop.

"Let me go Goku, don't pursue me, don't tempt me to stay with you, I beg you, because I don't know how much longer I can keep saying no." She sobbed some more.

A jolt went through him, charging up his hopes. Was that all that was left to do now? To keep pushing her, to keep trying? To wear her down until she said yes?

"It's the only way I'll ever be happy, please."

_She walked away from a stricken Goten and headed in the direction of the kitchen, only to return moments later, holding a paring knife expertly in her hand. There was something…not right about the look in her eyes._

_"I'm sorry Goku, I just…I just can't bear to have you walk away from me again. I just…I just can't" she said calmly._

_Too calmly_

_She stabbed herself directly in the chest, her eyes opening wide, the blood pooling thickly from the wound. Her eyes were still open, a lone tear cascading slowly down her cheek_

_"It hurts,"she said, before she closed her eyes_

How could he have not realized it before? How much she'd always loved him? How much she'd always given? And consequently how much she'd always suffered for it. He didn't want her to love him, not if it always brought her so much pain.

_"It hurts…"_

He closed his eyes and tried to swallow the burning lump in his throat.

"Love me enough to let me go Goku. I want a different life this time, let me have it. Let me be happy. Please." She pulled out of his damp chest and turned big bleary eyes at him.

"I-" Could he do it? Sure, he could live without her by his side on a day to day basis. He had done it for years. He could be away from her for years and be okay, he could do it. But see…that's just the thing, he always had _her_ to look forward to seeing again, to going home to, she was always his reward, hi motivation. He could survive and get on without her, but with her, he was truly happy, carefree…truly alive.

"Seventy years I've been your wife. Seventy years Goku. Please, let me go." She continued to sob quietly against him.

_"…Kakarot…" his mother kissed his little nose "I have to do this Kakarot. Survive, and find me again…I am not ashamed to cry for you my son, I am not ashamed of my love for you…survive…" she handed him over and covered her face with her hands as Bardock took him away, her heart tearing into two._

He remembered how much she'd loved him, enough to risk execution. Enough to let him go so he might have a chance to escape a turned life and be happy. His mother had given him a chance at being happy at impossible odds. She had loved him that much.

_"Why didn't you fight for her?" he asked the crystallizing astronaut in a strangled voice._

_"I t-tried. I even gave up my p-place in the graduate p-program for a year, t-trying to…" he choked, and it had nothing to do with the crystallization "…t-trying to change her mind. In the end, she said I was h-hurting her by not leaving her alone. She said I was..." More tears spilled from his eyes "... ruining her life..." _

_"So you gave up." Goku whispered. _

_"I loved her. I had to give her up. She wanted a clean break from me, so I...I...put her happiness first." _

She had loved him and tolerated his ways when no other woman would have; and in turn he had brought her nothing but pain. He didn't want to be the cause of her pain anymore. Better he live with the pain of losing her, of knowing that he'll never know that kind of happiness again than risk seeing her hurt by his actions ever again.

_"Anyone who thinks they can have it all is a fool, like you. Sacrifices always have to be made, it's the order of the universe." The shaman spoke absently, as he pulled out a small white egg from his sac._

Goku shut his eyes and placed the tip of his chin in her hair. He tightened his hold on her as she continued to sob into him. "I'll miss you Chi." He sighed, defeated. He didn't want to hurt her anymore. He grabbed her face and wiped the tears from her eyes. He pressed his mouth over hers one last time, savoring the familiar salty taste of her tears.

"I'll miss you so much." He held her to him for a few seconds more, breathing her in until the thin walls holding up his heart caved, and then he had no strength left.

"I'll miss you too." Chichi whispered to the lone walls of the spaceship, after Goku disappeared from her eyes, fizzling into nothing, like he'd never existed.

…

That's that you guys.

**Gangstaroflove:** hah hah hah, I got your review and I was like, huh? Ah, I see, she could have been hallucinating since she was already starting to lose it, but no, heh heh heh, Goku was very real.

**Sainivy**: she would'a did more for sure, but poor saf passed out on her, damn!

**Chibigoten25:** yeah, with everything that's happened, at least goku is showing some signs of growth? And yeah, master teech was just doing saffra's bidding, albeit, reluctantly.

**Sennaforever:** hah hah, if the trip continued, at this rate, they never would have made it back to earth in time! thanks so much for the review, and I hope it was a merry Christmas for you too.

**Collision:** erm…no I didn't, heh heh heh

**Kido626**: all of them in one go? Hectic! But that just makes me smile, thank you sooooo much for leaving a review. Yeah, the other characters, it's hard trying to incorporate everybody, but I do try to use them here and there when opportuinity arises, heh heh. Hope you enjoyed this chappie as well

**Kiara**: aw, kiara, poor saffra, she also loves goku, so do I! heh heh heh, thanks for the review.

**Ilovegcc**: please don't blast saffra, she's just blinded by her infatuation for Goku! Heh heh heh, I understand her, since I'm going through the same thing. I just love him soooo much. Hope you had a happy Christmas too!

**Rinkabijin**: WHOA! I tried to ignore my keyboard these last few days, but you know, your reviews kept coming in, and before I knew it, I had to sit down and start editing this chapter. Imagine, I had this one written before chapter twelve, so all the chaps in between were kinda leading up to this one. I cannot thank you enough for all your input, it literally made me sit down and get this chapter out. Hope you enjoyed it.

**Gokuandchichiforever:** thanks for the review!

**Hikari no Tenshi**: I hope your daughter is doing okay. There is nothing more scary than when their sick, especially because they're so tiny and fragile. Glad you enjoyed that last chapter, and it make me happy that it gave you something to do when you needed a distraction. Hope you enjoyed this one as well.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

**Thanks to ShadowMajin for looking over the chapter for me.**

* * *

King Kai was uncomfortable. His round heavy mass fidgeted inside his heavy black garments. He clasped his hands to compose himself, placing them on top of the long table. He just couldn't believe that it had come to this.

It was bad enough that he'd been summoned like a child to attend this gathering by the Grand, Supreme and Elder Kais; bad enough that as a result, he was now obliged to endure the smug company of South, West and East Kai. The worst however, was the unjustified purpose for this unnecessary gathering.

The atmosphere had grown tense following the favourable vote of the three cardinal Kais - they had all voted in favour of.

"Are you of the same mind?" KabitoKai turned to his side to address Grand Kai.

All eyes shifted to the eccentric Kai whose hair was so long it extended all the way down to his knees. He stroked his beard as he contemplated his decision, the heel of his red boots tapping incessantly on the floor. He avoided King Kai's hopeful eye as he sighed and gave his answer. "I think...it would be best."

King Kai's face fell.

Though the other three cardinal Kais had already given their vote, he had placed his hopes in Grand Kai voting alongside him.

"There you have it King Kai," said KabitoKai regretfully. "Everyone present sees the danger except you. King Yemma," he then turned up to the large administrator of judgement. "You were right to bring this matter to our attention, we cannot-"

"There is no danger!" King Kai burst out, losing his temper for the first time whilst in the presence of his superiors. The outburst seemed to shock him even more than them for he immediately dropped his head, avoiding the disapproving look from the ever laid-back Grand Kai.

"That's enough King Kai. The decision has been made. You will deliver the news to him personally," KabitoKai spoke with a soothing yet superior tone. "Goku is officially banned from breaching into Otherworld, and Shinganga goes back to solitary confinement. Her influence on Goku ends today."

The whisker-like protrusions on King Kai's face twitched in anger. "Goku will not accept this decision." King Kai pushed back his chair and stood without waiting to be officially dismissed. "You call yourself his friend," he stared hard at KibitoKai, "yet you conspire behind his back to take away his friend."

"Shinganga is no friend!" King Yemma's voice boomed angrily, his large fist pounding on the table. Luckily it was made out of Kaching, so it didn't even budge. "That vile sorceress is just biding her time, worming and warming up to Goku because he's strong enough to break the binds on her craft, and if that happens..." The enormous Ogre could hardly breathe from the sudden rush of panic.

"It's been over five earth years King Yemma!" King Kai took a sharp intake of breath. "It's been more than five years since he's remembered his Saiyan past and nothing has happened!" His antennae stood erect as it twitched in defiance. "It's been five years since his friendship with Shinganga and nothing has happened! After all he's done for the good of this universe, how can you still doubt him?"

"My youngester," Elder Kai's voice sang humorously. "It is not Goku we doubt, of course not. He is the purest soul in the history of this universe. It is the company in Hell that he seems to keep these days that we don't trust. His friendship with this Shinganga and the growing bond between him and that evil Saiyan mother of his is just unacceptable. We are just being thorough."

"Your excellency," King Kai flushed lowering his eyes. It was one thing to openly yell at King Yemma, but Elder Kai..."Goku can never and has never been swayed to the side of evil. It is simply impossible. I beg of you to please reconsider this decision. He has gone through some tough times lately with mortal issues of the heart. This decision will hurt him."

Elder Kai set his mouth in a straight line, the curves of his wrinkles accentuated by his displeasure. "In my day, a cardinal Kai such as yourself would never even be consulted in matters concerning the Otherworld," he said scornfully, his eye lingering to a flushing KabitoKai, as if everything that was not in order since his escape from the Z-sword was his young successor fault. "We honored your request to discuss the matter openly," he continued, "and now the decision has been made. You will inform Son Goku at once and then you will reconvene with the other cardinals to lend your power in order to seal away that purple-haired witch for good."

* * *

The rain fell in light trickles like the scattered spit of a million flies. It didn't make a sound as it crashed down on the roof, blowing sideways, in small splatters against the large fiberglass window. Inside the large isolated house nestled in the hills of the 439 mountains, Videl sighed, rubbing her swollen belly, wishing she could be outside dancing in the rain. She couldn't of course, she could hardly stand on her elephant feet, let alone dance. The only thing she could do was lie here on this couch, looking out the large window of her patio door, watching as nature routinely went about its business.

"Alright, let's try and sit you up," Gohan walked in bare footed into the living-room, placing a continental pillow behind her. He had just woken up, clad only in his boxers as he rubbed his eyes. It was pre-dawn, too early to be up, but Videl had insisted on being at this very spot to catch the sunrise. Only it was dark and overcast, grey nimbus clouds hiding what would have been a beautiful sunrise. "Here's your hot-chocolate."

Videl had to place all her weight in her arms to push and drag herself into a sitting position. She sighed, feeling useless as usual. The tiniest little movement had become such an effort.

Gohan waited until she was properly and comfortably propped before passing her the steaming cup and settling down next to her. "Everything okay? You look a little sad." He grabbed a lock of dark hair and pushed it behind her ear.

"I'm not sad. Just...thinking." She brought the edge of the mug to her lips.

"About?" Gohan enquired, concerned eyes appraising her face.

Videl chuckled, "Nawa." She said.

"Nawa?" Gohan stared with disbelieving eyes. "Nawa from Planet Qerux?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "It's been five earth years since our stop in Qerux on that dragonball quest. I wonder how everything worked out, you know, with her egging partner."

"Oh," He said, dumbfounded. How random to be thinking about something from that long ago. "I'm sure things worked out," he smiled. "I'm sure he laid so many eggs in her mouth that there's hundreds of little Nawas running around."

Videl laughed, "You're such a pervert Son Gohan. Think about something else for a change."

Gohan grinned, scooting closer to her. He took the mug from her hands and abandoned it on the table. "You know," he nuzzled her neck. "I wasn't even thinking about that, but now that you mention it..."

"Oh no you don't!" She tried to scoot away from him. "Touch me and I'll beat you up I swear it!" she warned.

Gohan chuckled, "Hmm, a challenge. It's been a long time since I've been in a fight. I accept." He smiled, nibbling on her ear as he slipped his hand under t-shirt.

"You can't! We can't! _I_ can't!" She flayed her hands. "I'm so fat and hideous, I can hardly move. I don't want to be touched." She squirmed as he grazed her nipple with his finger. She had to stifle back the moan. Their sensitivity levels had more than tripled in this last trimester.

"I like you fat. You're so soft," Gohan murmured, moving down to her collarbone.

Videl screeched, pushing him off with all her might - which wasn't much in her condition. "What? Did you just call me fat? Son Gohan!" She beat him over the head with a cushion. "I can't believe you! I'm not fat I'm pregnant!"

"Heh heh heh," Gohan laughed, "Oops! Did I say fat?" He turned innocent eyes at her. "I meant it with a P you know. It took me a long time to understand what Sharpner meant when he said you were Phat, but he was right." He grinned.

"You're so lame," Videl rolled her eyes.

"But you love me anyway, so it's okay." He smiled, and then he kissed her, covering her body with his.

With tiny miniscule splats, gentle rain drops continued to crash against the fiberglass as dark clouds continued to swirl. The forest was quiet save for an occasional rustle in the trees when a light wind blew. And inside the house, Videl sighed into the kiss, her skin already tingling. Her husband was just too hot, it was impossible to not get excited by him. She ran her hand across his perfect chest, tempted to give in. However..."Stop." She pulled away from his mouth and grabbed his hand.

Gohan moaned in complaint. "I don't want to stop."

"You kinda have to." She guided his hand between her legs. "Feel that, I think my water just broke."

"W-Wha...What?" Gohan pulled back with huge eyes and stared at the place in question. It wasn't a dramatic gush of fluid like on television, but sure enough a clear liquid was coming out of his wife, seeping slowing into their couch. "Oh! Oh! This is so unexpected!" He hopped off. "Your amniotic sac just rapturing like this before labour is not common, it's not common at all!" He pointed with a wavering finger.

"Thanks for the biology lesson," Videl said dryly, rolling her eyes.

"Does it hurt?" He leapt forward, crouching before her as he touched her stomach. "Are you having contractions? Are you in pain?" He looked up at her expectantly.

"No."

"Okay, okay, it's fine." He took a deep breath. "It's gonna be fine. Don't panic! Don't panic!" He held up his hands to her in a 'stop'. A trickle of sweat began to form at his forehead, "I've already gone through this with Goten. It was awful, just awful, so scary!" He began to hyperventilate. "Mom was in so much pain, I remember the screaming. All that screaming!" His chest rose and fell, rose and fell. "But don't panic. I'm here. I'm ready, I'm ready!" He nodded his head to assure himself, forcing in giant gulps of air in between. "I'll take care of everything okay? Don't panic."

"Hey Gohan?" Videl stared at him.

"Huh?"

"Calm down and pass me the phone. I'll call my gyny and our parents. I'm not even in labour yet and you're already freaking out. You're soooo not ready." She shook her head.

* * *

She grabbed it from the tip and tightened her grip. She felt it pulse, throbbing with warm life. It was just as warm and as soft as she'd imagined. At her unexpected touch, it retractracted, coiling itself tightly around his waist like a tailor bird wrapping silk threads around its nest.

"I told ya not to touch my tail Shinganga." Goku said lazily, opening his eyes.

The dark-haired woman sitting on his bed with his tail between her fingers frowned, letting it go. He'd found her out again. "How did you know it was me?" She quirked, moving away from the bed.

Goku chuckled, turning to his side. It was pre-dawn, but still dark because of the weather. Even though his curtains were drawn, he could hear and smell the rain falling gently outside. A normal person wouldn't have been able to see her clearly, but his saiyan eyes had retinas packed with rods. He was diurnal and nocturnal, his vision as sharp in the day as it was at night.

Lazily, his eyes fell on the beautiful intruder gazing disinterestedly at the items in his room.

"So, how can you tell?" she pressed him for an answer.

Goku yawned as his sleepy eyes took in the familiar heart-shaped face with dark hair tied into a tight bun at the top of her head. Her dark eyes were arched and wide-set as always, and her lips small and perfect. She was wearing a dark-blue gi with red bottoms and on her feet - combat boots with red tips. Around her wrists she wore thick weighted bands - in every way but one, she was the exact replica of his ex-wife. "How did I know you ain't Chichi?" Goku shrugged. "The same way I always know, your aura. It's all wrong," he said easily.

"Humph! I see," said the sorceress as she made a gesture with her hand. "Fetola," she chanted and Goku watched as the pitch dark hair of Chichi fell out of its bun, growing out and elongating into thick waves of purple tresses. They were so long and rich, they fell all the way down to her back. Her dark chocolate eyes pulled out on the sides and reverted back to a deep violet as they settled back into their normal almond shape. And lastly, the binds on her craft illuminated her form by way of a shimmering silver light hovering over her robes.

"Heh heh," Goku grinned. "That's more like it ey? The real you."

Shinganga merely tossed her head, the movement throwing the hair that had fallen into her face back. "One day I'll fool you Goku, you'll see."

"We'll see." He agreed good naturedly. "Wha d'ya doing in my dream anyway? I have to be up real soon. It's almost morning and I have a thing with Momu."

"I'm dead remember. With these binds on me, I can't exactly visit you physically while you're in the mortal realm. So I came here," she spoke absently. Her attention was presently focused on a picture mounted on the wall. It was of Goku carrying his youngest son on his shoulders standing next to a redheaded woman pulling a silly face. "It's been awhile since you've come to Otherworld to visit. I got bored so I came to you," she shrugged.

"I told ya last time Shinganga, Pan will be born pretty soon, and I don't wanna miss it. Last time I was in Otherworld visiting my mom, I thought it was just a short while. But when I came back, heh heh heh...I'd been gone for a week! Momu was real mad at me. I'd missed some important stuff." He pouted in remembrance.

A line formed between the sorceress's eyes as she frowned. "I don't like her. She's whiny, bossy, and possessive. You should find another earth woman to take her place."

Goku laughed. "You don't like anyone Shinganga, and nuh - I like Momu. She's been good to me. My sons think she's great. I'm sure Pan will love her too. It should be real soon now. I can't wait to meet her all over again. I'll bet she'll be as strong as ever."

"I see," Shinganga said. "You know Goku, if you break the binds on my craft, I'd be able to visit you physically and meet your family." She moved away from the pictures, her robes rustling as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

Goky laughed. "Nope. Not gonna do that."

She scowled. "You promised me. It's been two years since the spot on your backside was graced with the magical touch of my lips. Only a privileged few have ever felt the warmth of my tongue against their skin."

Goku flushed, shaking his head. Shinganga was just too silly. She used any opportunity she could to try and kiss him or worse...

Completely disregarding his expression, she continued. "I kept my end of our bargain. After I pleasured you your-"

"Hey now, whoa!" Goku sat up and flayed his arms in heated denial. "Don't go saying things like that now Shinganga, you might give someone the wrong idea if they heard you. It was just an innocent kiss you know. Kinda like the one you gave me five years ago to bring back my memories."

"Yes well." She threw her head back again, threading a delicate finger through her hair. "Innocent for you. I rather enjoyed it." The corners of her mouth extended into a wicked smile.

Goku blanched, then frowned. "Shinganga..."

She dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "My point is: I reversed the effects of Kami's intervention from long ago and your tail grew back as promised. Now break these bonds Goku, I want my magic back. All of it."

Goku sighed, "I will. When the time is right. Just as I promised."

Violet eyes darkened under the sheath of long lashes. "And just _when_ will the time be right?"

Goku grinned. "When your Ki stops feeling so..."

"So?" She arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

"Well, you know evil." He shrugged nonchalantly.

"Humph!" She folded her arms, turning her back to him. "You have no manners Goku. You claim to consider me as a friend, and yet you call me evil. You hurt my feelings."

"Aww, hey now. Don't look like that. You _are_ my friend. You helped me a lot that time." A dark shadow fell over his face. "But," he said cheerfully, shrugging the bad memories of his painful divorce off, "I know you Shinganga, you'll do bad things if you get all your magic back."

"Only to that Ogre Yemma and his filthy Kai associates." she said coldly. "He sealed me away for 500 years in that..." She paused to compose herself. "I'll never forgive him."

Goku regarded the hatred that filled her eyes just then. So intense, so frightening, so...familiar. "Well Shinganga," he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "it seems to me that all women, no matter the species can't forgive the ones they'd loved the most." He spoke from experience. "Maybe you guys could make up and-"

"Keep your opinions to yourself," she snapped, cutting him short before he could finish. "My time here is coming to an end anyway. I believe that someone or something is trying to wake you up."

"Huh? Really?" He blinked, watching as her form began to fade. "You're right, you're disappearing. Hey! Once Pan is born I'll come see you real soon Shingy!" he flashed a grin.

"I told you _not_ to call me that." The long-haired sorceress rolled her eyes as she vanished.

* * *

"Eeeey?" Yamcha's eyes bulged out of their sockets as the punch connected with her eye. The momentum sent her flying across the room, crashing in a thud against the wooden wall.

"Ch...Ch...Chichi!" he exclaimed in a panic. Any untrained eye would have been too slow to catch the pitty patter of his bare feet as he raced across the polished wooden floors of the dojo. In a second, the former baseball player was by her side. "That was an obvious punch! Why didn't you dodge?" he scolded, attempting to help her to her feet.

"Grrr," Chichi swatted away his attempts to help her up. Her chest heaved up and down in anger as she climbed steadily to her feet. "You good for nothing delinquent! How many times have I told you to watch your strength!" she screamed, falling back into her stance.

"Oh but I am watching my strength _princess, _you're still alive aren't you?" he smirked.

"Why you!" She charged him.

"Not a chance." Yamcha blocked her, gripping her arm. "This is it for today. That eye needs some attention."

"Nonsense, the sun is not even up yet. We still have the time."

"No more training," he said firmly. "You're distracted anyway, no way a punch like that should have landed. And besides, aren't you the one with an all important council meeting this morning? If we don't put ice on that eye, it will be swollen."

With a hesitant touch, Chichi fingered the delicate flesh around her eye and winced. Damn it! Yamcha was right, she was distracted. A lot was riding on this morning's meeting. Maybe she should have skipped her daily training. He was also right about her eye, even with the ice, it was probably done for. "Oh alright, you win," she relented.

"Stay here, I'll go up and bring some ice. You'll probably need Moriana's herbal ointment too," said Yamcha as he walked off towards the stairs.

Chichi sat down on the floor, crossing her legs above the wooden boards. Her hair was still damp from the short walk from her rooms in the west wing of the palace. Every morning she made the short trip passed the stables, across the gardens and finally to the east wing were the dojo was built five years ago.

She was proud of her achievements in these years since her divorce. She'd left Mt. Pauzo behind and moved back to Mt. Frypan. After a long and tedious legal to-do, her father had been able to reinstate her relinquished title and Chichi had wasted no time in assuming her responsibilities as princess. She'd practically dipped her finger in every governing body in the Kingdom. She was at an advantage of course; she knew the future, so she knew exactly where and on what to focus on. Which was why this morning's meeting was so important.

Beyond the governing issues, she was especially proud of the successful construction and operation of this dojo. Every since its inception they attracted more and more students. She would never give him the satisfaction of saying it to his face, but she would forever be grateful that Yamcha had agreed to abandon his empty wasteful life of booze and womanizing to become the Master Sensei of the Royal Frypan Dojo. She had students of her own at the beginner level, but her time was split between too many activities to be on hand full time.

"Alright," said Yamcha. "Let's see here." He sat down next to her, pressing a cold pack against the affected eye. "Let's hold this here for a while shall we?"

Chichi took over the pressing, using her left hand to hold the pack against her eye.

They sat in silence for a while, listening to the gentle pitter patter of the rain as it fell on the roof. She enjoyed this routine. Training at sun-up with Yamcha, then breakfast with her father and depending on the week, Goten as well. Yamcha would join them sometimes, and the two of them would sit and talk. It was so nostalgic, reminding her of the old days, even though the nostalgia was only on her part. Of course, Yamcha had no memory of those times.

"Listen ChiChi," he broke the companionable silence. "I um...have something I wanna show you." He shuffled about nervously as he pulled out a small box from his pockets. With unpracticed fingers he carefully snapped it open, revealing a glistening diamond ring.

Chichi clutched her heart, tears forming in her eyes. "Oh Yamcha, it's beautiful."

"You think so?" he asked shyly. "I've changed it about three times," he laughed nervously.

"It's perfect Yamcha. I love it. And most importantly, Minie is gonna love it too. Oh Yamcha!" She choked up, a decade worth of emotion pouring out in one go. She forgot her hold on her eye pack and flung her arms around him. "Oh Yamcha!" She sobbed, suffocating him in a crushing hug.

"Uh..." Yamcha scratched his head, stupefied. "What's the matter Chichi," he pulled back, tilting her face up to his. "Hey, hey," he wiped the tears from her eyes. "Why are you crying?'"

"I'm just so happy for you guys," she sniffed, smiling through a downpour of tears.

"Um..." what could he say? She was scaring him with all this emotion.

"It's okay," she said. "I don't expect you to understand," she told him truthfully. As they were now, it was impossible to explain how much this ring meant to her.

See, though she'd had her own miseries and her own reasons for turning into a bitter old prune, through it all she'd had her kids, grandkids and great-grandkids looking out for her as they tirelessly tried to ignite the dried up lump of coal that had been her heart. Yamcha on the other hand, had had no one. He'd never married nor kept close ties with any of his former friends. Indeed his end had been one filled with regret, bitterness and loneliness. The awkward and unexpected friendship they'd forged in her 70s had been based largely on their mutual, sinister outlook on life.

And amongst all the changes she'd vowed to make in her own life, she'd also sworn to do everything in her power to steer Yamcha towards a more fulfilling future. It hadn't been easy, not at all. With no way of knowing the bigger picture regarding the numerous failings of her relationship with Goku, all his friends had grown to dislike her even more than they already had. And Yamcha had been no exception.

Still, she'd used every opportunity available to bring him and Minie together, and now...in just five short years...

She hiccupped, wiping away at her cheeks as more happy tears continued to fall. "I just like happy endings," she choked up, "and I'm glad that you're finally getting yours."

"Well I..." Yamcha was at a loss. He had long since given up on trying to understand all the sides to this crazy woman. "She hasn't said yes yet so." He snapped the box shut and stuffed it back in his pocket. "Let's not get too excited ey?"

"I'm just so happy for you!" She flung herself in his arms for a second time.

Yamcha sweat dropped.

* * *

"Heh heh heh," Goku opened his eyes. "Hi Momu." he greeted the redhead currently slapping him awake with the remnants of his goodbye grin to Shinganga.

With a yawn he pulled himself up to a sitting position and stretched his arms. "Ahh..." he cracked the muscles in his neck. "So it's really raining huh?" He was able to peek out his window since Momu had already drawn the curtains.

"You are creepy you know that?" The redhead regarded him suspiciously. "What kind of dream were you having, waking up with a grin like that?" She arched her brow.

"Nuh, it was nothing." He shrugged, regarding her. She was wearing what he refered to as 'Them-Bulma-like-dresses' - a red one today. These dresses were typically tight, short and cut low on the bosom. On her feet were red pencil heels matching the colour of her hair. She was looking really pretty.

"Ah...Ah...Choo!" he sneeazed, rubbing his own. "Aaw man, Momu," he whined. "Are you wearing that funny perfume that makes me sneeze again?"

"Come, come Goku," Momu made two impatient claps with her hands. "Don't just sit there sneezing and staring. Move. Move. Put those alien powers to good use. It's late, it will be sun-up soon." She pointed outside. "Come, come!"

"I'm moving! I'm moving!" He climbed out of bed. He always wore pyjama bottoms or boxers to bed now. Momu had a rule about that, and he wouldn't dare break a Momu rule.

"Come, come then!" She made two more claps. "Lamano has a mountain of breakfast ready in the kitchen. I'm giving you five minutes for your shower, ten to eat and then we go, got it?"

"I'll only need five to eat!" he said cheerfully, making a five with his hand before he disappeared into the bathroom.

Momu grinned at the disappearing backside as the door shut behind him. She fanned herself twice, before she left the bedroom. "Sexy bastard."

…

"Momu Speed, you're on speaker! State your business," she answered her phone as she drove her hover car through the early morning rain.

"_Hi Momu, it's Videl. Is Goku with you?"_

"Hey Honey girl. Yeah he's right here. I'm driving him to a shoot. You're on speaker hon. State your business." She grinned.

_A laugh, "Okay then. Hi Goku, it's Videl."_

"Hi Videl, what's up? It's still too early for you to be awake."

_Another laugh, "Yeah I know. Um, Goku, My water just broke. Gohan and I are just about to leave for West City. Bulma's made all the arrangements at Capsule's Medical Wing."_

"Whoa! Really? Alright! She's finally gonna be born!" Goku cheered happily. "I can't wait Videl! It's gonna be great!"

_Videl laughed at his carefree enthusiasm, "Well, I gotta go. I've left a message for Goten on his phone. I'm sure he's still sleeping. And I've already called Dad and Chichi. See you guys there."_

She hung up.

Thump. Thump. Momu's heart crashed against her chest. Oh boy. Videl just had to go and mention the C word. Damn it. And just before a shoot too!

With her hands on the wheel, she braced herself before stealing a glance in Goku's direction. Sure enough, his cheerful mood was a thing of the past. His face was frozen in stricken realization. She balanced the wheel with one hand, and dropped the other to reach for his.

"It will be fine," she soothed, squeezing his hand. "You'll be fine. Don't let it get to you."

Thump. Thump. Goku's own heart rammed noisily.

There was to be no escape this time. Nothing would keep Chichi away from the birth of her first grandchild. A child she'd missed so dearly from even before the wish. He'd done so well avoiding her these past five years. He'd made a promise to let her go the day after their Hulidian ceremony, a promise to let her move on and live a life free from him, and even though it had cost him – was still costing him, he'd kept that promise. He'd stayed out of her life – completely. After all, he was used to living for chunks at a time without her. First to train in Otherworld, then for seven years after Cell, ten more years to train Uub and finally the thirty-five years he'd spent with Shenron.

Yeah, he was used to living without her, so keeping that promise to her should have been easy, but it hadn't – still wasn't.

This was the first time he'd ever had to live with the knowledge that their separation was permanent in the true sense of the word. There would be no tomorrows, not even in death on their final journey in Otherworld.

It was also the first time he'd been the one left behind. All the other times, their separation was always instigated by his absence, and he'd always lived through it by diving head first into a new adventure. New places, new people, new challenges. The passage of time was easier on the weary heart when one was busy.

But this time it was different. She was the one who'd instigated this separation. _He_ was the one left behind to live in their quaint little house in the mountains and pick up the pieces. A house whose every crevice held a dear memory.

There were days when it'd been too much, living in a home where every wall, every corner, every piece of furniture, every blade of grass and every ripple in the water told the story of the good 'ol days over and over again until he couldn't bare to remember or listen anymore. On such days, he'd just leave the house and the surrounding forest flying as far away as was necessary to blot out the sound of those stories.

No this separation hadn't been easy. It had been painful in a way that still struck him dumb - a foreign and unfamiliar way. The urge to flee the planet and lose himself far, far away where new adventures awaited to be discovered had never been stronger than in those early days following the divorce. However, he'd made her and himself another promise – to be there to raise their kids, grandkids and great-grandkids this time round.

So he'd fought the urge to flee and killed it, forcing himself to learn how to live a 'normal' life on the planet he'd given his whole life to protect. Just like a small child learning how to walk, he'd taken it day by day, raising his sons, managing his home, keeping down a job and training. He'd had a lot to make up for with regards to his sons and a lot of catching up to do with regards to the strength he'd lost in the wish.

Missing Chichi was nothing new, it was just part of him, something he'd gotten used to carrying in his heart the same way he carried everything else. But missing her in this period was weird. It just felt heavier and more pronounced. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he couldn't write it off and say: 'Man I can't wait to get back home and see her!' or say 'I miss her a lot now, but it's fine coz I've already fixed it with King Yemma and Grand Kai to let her keep her body and come live with all of us on the Kai planet in the end anyway.'

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he couldn't say those things now. Or maybe it didn't. Or perhaps it had something to do with the fact that he was experiencing his first separation after having have gained his lost memories. He didn't really know. The only thing he knew was that the missing of Chichi was different now than it'd ever been in the last 70 years. It was making his life come in waves of unpredictable emotions. For days he'd be just fine, happily going about his business, and then...bam! Out of nowhere – he wouldn't be fine.

Sometimes a terrifying urge to gather up and eat up every last spec of food on the planet and then bury his head in hot sand and cry would just kick in from nothing. Sometimes, even more terrifying to him were the days when even the delicious allure of food, or the thrilling prospect of battle would just leave him cold, finding that he'd rather just sleep and hope to never wake up, and this confused him.

He understood about being sad, or about being angry when something bad happens. He knew how to deal with that, and usually he'd be able to be happy again just as soon as the sad or bad thing was over. He didn't understand nor know how to deal with all these other feelings in-between. It didn't make sense not to want to eat, it didn't make sense to not to want to sleep. Nor did it make sense not to want to train or laugh or be in the company of people. It didn't make sense to blink and find that you've just levelled a whole range of mountains, nor did it make sense to snap unfairly at the people around you.

But the thing that made the least sense was his gut telling him that on these days, when things got so fuzzy and confusing, when his emotions started to waver in foreign and unpredictable ways, that he ought to just go to wherever Chichi's Ki led him to, and that even if it's just for a second, seeing her again would make missing her a lot more bearable.

But he couldn't do that of course. He'd stopped himself from sensing out her Ki, blocking it out completely. He didn't see her or contact her in any way.

It was lucky that they all had special abilities. Gohan had moved away to university a few weeks following the divorce anyway, and Goten was alternating weekly between them. It was no big deal. Goten could get from Mt. Paozu from his week with his dad to Mt. Frypan for his week with his mom at the blink of an eye. He could also commute from either place to school in West City just as easily. Even though he'd only been seven years old when the arrangement had began, he'd never needed to be picked up or dropped off, and he'd just fly himself with his dad monitoring his Ki. So really there'd never been a reason for him and Chichi to see each other.

Special occasions like birthdays were tricky, but they planned and divided them in advance. In fact the last time he'd seen Chichi had been just over four years ago at Gohan's graduation. Thinking back on that day, he supposed they'd been lucky that Gohan and Videl had secretly eloped after. After living together in space on the dragonball quest, upon their return to Earth, the two had been impatient to live together again. So he and Chichi had been spared having to see each other at a big elaborate wedding like the first time.

So despite the ability to be anywhere in the world at the blink of an eye, he had kept his promise and made painstakingly sure to never be where she was, no matter how badly he'd wanted to see her.

It's funny how things change though, even without us realizing them. But change they do. He'd stayed out of her life to be complacent to her wishes, but the situation has reversed itself without him noticing. Now he was doing it because he couldn't bare to see her, didn't want to see her.

When had it happened? Even he didnt know. Did it start two years ago when he found out about her relationship with Sekei? Or was it even earlier than that? He didn't know. He didn't care. It didn't change the fact that he'd done everything in his power to ensure that their paths never crossed. That they were never in the same place at the same time.

But now with Pan...He stared blankly at the droplets of water cascading down the window, with the soft humming of Momu's car vibrating in his stomach. There was no avoiding her today for he would not miss Pan's birth, no matter what. Kami knew he'd missed out on a lifetime with her before the wish. Things were different now, he was different now.

"You still with me there Goku?" Momu prompted with another squeeze of her hand. "I can cancel the shoot and turn around if you wanna-"

"Nuh. This shoot should be easy, let's get it over and done with." He forced himself to smile.

Momu saw right through it of course. They were a lot alike in that respect her and Goku. Always carrying the burden of cheering everyone else up, of fixing their problems and of getting them to look forward. That's how they'd ended up together in the first place. Momu had come across him as a mess of a man struggling to exist in a world he clearly had no idea how to deal with. She had been powerless to stop herself from moving in on him, fixing him as best as she could, and taking over his life completely.

So instead of prying on the feelings she knew him to be hiding behind that smile, she simply flashed him her own brilliant one.

Inside she too was dreading this reunion with his ex.

"Alright, we'll do the shoot. It should be a cinch. And then we'll go welcome your granddaughter into the world."

"Right."

_I promise Pan, things will be different this time round._

* * *

"Eight votes to four," Chichi tallied, straightening her shoulders. She looked straight in his eyes as she continued. "Rucus Rhoecus, you are hereby dismissed from this council and stripped of all your duties and privileges with immediate effect." She kept an unflinching lock on his smouldering eyes as she delivered the final verdict.

The council room went stealthily silent; the four that had voted to keep Rhoecus in his seat were shocked that this was the end of the road for the seniour council member. They had all served the Ox Kingdom diligently under his leadership; they didn't understand how this had happened.

It had been well understood for years now that the tiny Ox Kingdom was down to its last hereditary monarch. Upon the reigning King's death or retirement, it had already been decided that the Kingdom would shift to an elective-monarchy; future Kings being elected from members of this very council. It had been early days for sure, but Rhoecus had definitely been in the running for future King.

But...five years ago, the unexpected had happened. In perfect sync with the news of her divorce from the ex-martial arts champion Son Goku, the King's daughter, Son Chichi had returned to reclaim her right and title as Princess of the Ox Kingdom, effectively nullifying the clause to move the small Kingdom into an elective-monarchy state.

Chichi felt the light touch of a stray hair disentangling from the elaborate bun fixed on her head. She didn't move to flick it or tuck it back, any gesture or movement on her part would spoil the stillness of the staring contest between her and Rhoecus Rucus - the future traitor.

Unblinking, even though her swelling and bruising eye from that morning's training demanded it, she stood her ground and held his stare.

'You fucking bitch! I don't deserve this and you know it!' his eyes screamed at her. She could understand that, it must feel pretty unjustified from where he was sitting. But Chichi knew better than that, she knew the future, and she knew that getting kicked out of the council was the least Rhoecus deserved.

_It was a disaster zone._

_What was once a thriving town of three hundred thousand inhabitants was now just a dry, scorched and vacant heap of collapsing buildings, bridges and roads. Any wildlife that may have survived the attacks had long since fled the region. Natural instinct had whispered in their ears, turning them away in search of a new home whose water source was not contaminated. Clouds of smoke, gas and dust lingered in the sky and every so often the distinct sounds of explosions and gunshots could be heard in the distance._

_Goten flew in pulling a large 6x6 5-ton truck over his shoulder with a j-hook chain like an Ox pulling a plough. "Hey guys," he touched down, setting the broken down cargo truck down into a slow and steady stop. At 42, the human-saiyan hybrid could have easily passed for someone in his late twenties. Gone was that youthful cheerfulness, in its place resided a hardened, chiselled version of Son Goku's face. The 42 year old went to great lengths to keep his build lean and his hair extra short, anything to minimise his resemblance to the absent father he despised._

_Happy that the truck was stable, he moved quickly to the back to remove the chocolate-shaped canvas cover to reveal its precious cargo. "They're all in pretty bad shape."_

_The truck was filled to the brim with another load of wounded, weary and traumatized survivors. They had nowhere else to go, so Goten was flying around, rounding them up and bringing them to camp. The camp was currently the only source of protection and assistance to the displaced inhabitants of Mt. Frypan fleeing their destroyed homes._

_A group of medics rushed past Chichi, nearly knocking the 70 year old over as they raced to the truck to attend to the new arrivals._

"_Whoa! Easy there," Goten maneuvered her out of the way. "You okay there Mom?"_

"_I'm fine. I just..." her eyes roamed around in despair. "I just can't believe that Rhoecus reduced Papa's Kingdom to this," she whispered in a strangled voice._

"_Hey now, it's okay Mom. Just as soon as we've rounded up all the survivors, we'll definitely stop him." He kissed the heaping mass of white and grey hair on top of her head._

"_It's just so awful," she covered her face with her hands. "So awful! There's no way Papa's resting in peace. That Rhoecus, if I get my hands on him I'll-"_

_She couldn't even finish her own sentence. She was so frail now, so old and weak. Not to mention the little issue of her recent bouts with mental sickness. There was really nothing an old worn out woman like her could do except despair. All around her, the young and able were shuffling about, doing as much as they could. And she..._

_Goten pulled her out of the way to make way for the mad rush of volunteers they unloaded, sorted and carried the wounded from the truck to the appropriate sections of the camp._

"_What are you doing out here all by yourself Mom?" asked Goten. "Where are the others?"_

_Just then, Videl came jogging towards them. She was talking on the radio in her hand, shaking her head furiously. On her body, she was strapped with all kinds of gadgets for all kinds of situations. At 52, the mother of four was in really good shape; she was no Saiyan though and as such the subtle effects of age could be seen on her face. A deep scowl creased her features as she ended her conversation. She was scratched and dirty all over from doing all kinds of things and her eyes were puffy and red from lack of sleep."Goten, you're back," she said, coming to a stop before the mother-son duo._

"_Yeah, just flew in. But I'm just about to head out again. There's still more people out there."_

"_Sure, do your thing, I'll take Chichi to Gohan."_

"_And I'll take..That!" he snatched a bottle of water clipped to her waist._

"_Idiot," muttered Videl as she led Chichi away from the commotion._

_..._

"_You're back," said Gohan, looking up from the giant machine he was fiddling with. He was wearing dark green overalls stained with dirt, blood, oil and a number of other things. At 52, the human-saiyan hybrid was yet to display any physical signs of aging. His skin continued to retain its smooth and youthful elasticity, his hair it's thick and dark lustre. Unlike other men his age, his body made no allowances for extra body fat or a reduction on aerobatic performance. If anything, he continued to increase in strength, flexibility and reaction time._

"_Yeah, I'm back," said Videl tiredly. "Hi," she kissed him on the cheek._

"_Hi," said Gohan, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Mom...you've been crying again," he said tenderly, wiping his oil stained hands on a dirty piece of cloth._

"_Don't worry about me Gohan," said Chichi with a small voice."I'm fine," she waved him off. "I was thinking of going to Tent 1 to see if they need more hands. The line of hungry people keeps growing."_

_Videl and Gohan shared a knowing was no way they'd let her go to Tent 1. There was no way they'd leave her unsupervised in a place with knives and all manner of sharp objects._

"_Um...Gohan, why don't you take her to Tent 6? I think they're done setting it up," said Videl._

"_Good idea hon, I'll take her. Um...any word on Pan or Jr. yet?" He tried to sound as nonchalant as possible, but his eyes gave him away._

_A dark shadow fell over Videl's face. "Still can't find Pan I'm afraid, and Jr." She gritted her teeth. "He said he's not coming. That he's not interested. Just as well, a selfish junkie would only be in the way. You know he's completely unreliable."_

"_Yeah," said Gohan dispiritedly._

_The situation with his two eldest children was beyond saving. Gohan Jr. was a constant headache. At sixteen he'd been arrested more times than he could count. He'd been in and out of rehab for the abuse of any substance under the sun. Currently he wasn't even in school; he'd quit and shocked his parents by filing for emancipation._

_The situation with Pan was bordering on hopeless. They hadn't heard anything from her in 8 years. Not since...not since her cousin's first birthday party. She absolutely refused to forgive her parents and Goten for the way they'd handled her affair with Trunks. Gohan's rage after catching them red-handed in the bushes had reached astonishing heights. Vegeta's arrival had been too late to stop him. Trunks, who'd made no move to defend himself or raise his Ki, had not survived the beating. Vegeta and Gohan had barely survived their own brawl after. And even though the new set of dragonballs had brought him back to life, Pan had never forgiven him._

_Not a word for 8 years. So yeah, the situation of those two was still pretty bleak._

"_What about the twins? I don't see them," said Gohan._

"_They were running around here somewhere," said Chichi. She'd seen them doing some much needed heavy lifting around camp earlier. Such enthusiastic little darlings._

"_Oh, I just sent them down to the dam," said Videl. "I got a report that some people are trapped under the abutment down there, so they've gone to do the heavy lifting."_

_Chichi nodded in approval._

"_Okay" said Gohan "I'll get going with Mom then."_

"_Really Gohan, you don't have-"Chichi tried to protest._

"_Once you've settled Chichi in," Videl interrupted, "the generator to power up Tents 6 to 10 needs offloading. Damn thing weighs 2 tons."_

"_Sure," said Gohan. "Come Mom. Let's get you away from here."_

"_Oh and Gohan, the infirmary tent is full, we need more space to set up the rest of the plug in hospital. Can you level those two mountains over there to create the space?"_

_Gohan glanced over at the large rocky structures. They were not very high, but they occupied a lot of surface area. "Sure, no problem."_

"_Oh and honey, remember the space-"_

"_Should be as flat as possible, have a maximum slope of one percent, and be clear of rocks or debris," interjected a voice from the doorway. "Took a crash course in disaster management before I came."_

_All three Sons turned towards the arched doorway in astonishment. Blocking out the light coming in through the doorway, there stood a short young woman with an athletic build, short dark hair and big blue eyes. She was clad in full combat gear, including a pair of fingerless, ergo-padded, full-grain leather gloves. Videl could tell for she wore an exact replica on her own hands._

_The newcomer took in the dumbstruck expression on their faces. "What's this? You should have sensed me coming a long time ago. It's just as I thought - you've gotten pathetically sloppy in these times of peace Dad."_

"_P-Pan? Is that really you?" Chichi stammered in disbelief. A whirlwind of emotion was already making her dizzy._

"_It's me Grandma," the young woman said as she stepped inside and embraced the now sobbing Chichi. "I'm back."_

"_Oh Pan!" Chichi sobbed. "I thought I'd go to my grave before I saw you again. How cruel you are to an old woman, disappearing like that for eight years. You really are Goku's granddaughter," she scolded her, even as she clung to her for dear life._

_Videl and Gohan were still awestruck. Neither knew what to do or how to react. The last time they'd seen her up-close like this had been such an ugly, bloody, terrible time. They could only stare with caged emotions as desperate as a heap of fish caught in a net._

"_Don't be mad at me Grandma, I'm here now. I promise not to disappear on you again okay? Look, there's someone I want you to meet."_

_Videl and Gohan shared a quick look before their eyes fell back on their daughter. She'd brought along someone from her life in the middle of a war? Was she dating some kind of adrenalin junkie who'd jumped at the chance to follow her girlfriend into the thick of battle? Knowing Pan, it was highly likely._

"_Come in Sano, don't be shy. Come on in and meet your grandparents."_

_Gohan's eyes grew out of his skull as a little boy with a round pudgy face walked in. His little head was piled high with dark spikes, a few bangs falling onto his face. He was tiny looking, probably not more than five years old. And Kami, he was dressed in battle gear too! What was...what the hell was going on? Pan was a m-mother? How?_

_Videl gasped, Chichi too, eyes disbelieving. T-This was...this was Pan's son? How? When?_

"_Don't just stand there Sano, say hello and introduce yourself."_

"_Ptl!" a pink tongue darted out of his mouth as he stuck it out to the-lookers. "I don't wanna!"_

"_Sano..." Pan warned._

"_Nye, nye, nye!" he chanted. Little pudgy index fingers gripped the insides of his mouth as he pulled his lips wide, swaying his head as he chanted. "Nye, nye, nye!"_

"_Sano!" Pan warned again._

"_Y-Your...your son?" Gohan found his voice. "Pan...how?"_

_Pan rolled her eyes. What a stupid thing to ask. "No need to get excited. I haven't seen or spoken to Trunks since you know...killed him." A hard edge fell over her face. "So go ahead and retract those claws, Sano's not his."_

"_Pan!" Chichi scolded. "What a thing to say in-front of a child!"_

"_It's okay mom," Gohan said quietly, there was nothing he could about it. He'd lost the plot and killed Trunks. Nothing would ever change that. "That's not what I meant Pan. I wasn't asking about Trunks." Even now, just saying his name...a small dose of hot rage curdled in his stomach._

"_Of-course not, how silly of me."_

"_Let's not start," said Videl, placing a hand on his arm._

"_Nye!" Sano stuck out his tongue again. "Not a child. I am 4!" He made a four with his fingers. "Aaand I can fly so nye, nye!" He pulled on his ears._

_Despite the tense atmosphere, Videl couldn't help but smile down at the child. Whatever questions they had for Pan, whatever concerns, whatever apologies – this was not the time. In the midst of this war, despite the anger she was probably still harbouring for her parents, she'd come. She'd come to lend them her strength and her support. And sometimes, when a family was going through trying times like they were, that was all that mattered._

_And then there was Fito. She was in-love with him already. He was just so cute, and daring. She crouched down before him. " Can you really fly Sano?"_

"_You wanna see?" he asked excitedly, not even bothering to wait for a response. In a second he was hovering in the air, making small zips in the confined space of the tent. "Weee! Wee! Told you I could!"_

"_Nye!" Videl levitated into the air, sticking out her own tongue. "I can fly too so nye!"_

_..._

_It was early evening when they all reconvened in Tent 6._

_Tension filled the air in several paths as they all tried to put their differences aside to strategise._

"_Tomo, how did it come to this? I thought the royal council was meant to move to Clause Seventeen?" Gohan began by addressing the white-haired lawyer that had served his late grandpa diligently till his death._

"_It did move to Clause 17, but one of the council members, old Mollo died mysteriously. The vote was then split equally between Rhoecus and Opuesto. Before any plans could be made Rhoecus..." he sighed. "Rhoecus...just up and mobilized an army using Thetso - a secret fund he acquired through skimming off the top of various health and military projects over the years. Once he had his army up and running he took over the palace and subjugated half of the Ox army and well." He pulled down his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes. "Then he began the attacks in the villages and towns."_

"_That fucker," Goten swore._

"_Bastard," Pan folded her arms._

"_In defence, Opuesto mobilized what was left of the royal army, scraped together some volunteers and has since launched his own attacks. It's just all one big mess."_

"_I see," Gohan ran his fingers through his hair. He pulled his own glasses down, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "What can we do to stop this war? This bloodshed has to stop before more innocent people are hurt."_

_With thick wrinkled fingers, Toma applied pressure on his knee, kneading steadily in circles. If the war didn't end him, this arthritis would. He sighed, turning his eyes up at Gohan. "You can mobilize your own army and-"_

"_No! Out of the question. No more armies!" exclaimed Gohan. The little independent kingdom was torn to pieces because of opposing armies. He would not contribute!_

"_Feh..." shrugged Goten, "We could just blow up Rhoecus's entire army, and bam - war over." He leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head._

"_Goten!" exclaimed Gohan in disbelief. Seriously, where was the carefree brother of days past? He would never get used to this angry and bitter version of his brother._

"_What?" Goten regarded him calmly. "It's true and you know it."_

"_I have to agree with Uncle Goten, Dad. It's a sure way to put an end to things quickly," Pan volunteered._

_Gohan stared at his daughter in disbelief. Goten he could understand, he had watched him metamorphosize into something he hardly recognised ever since that first time their mother was committed. But Pan was...well, truthfully he had no idea who his daughter was anymore. It had been eight years after all._

"_So just...murder everyone with one blast? Are you even listening to yourselves? Rhoecus's army is up to ten thousand soldiers. You would really have us just...exterminate them like insects? We may have Saiyan blood running through our veins, and we may have the power to do so, but I will not massacre anyone," said Gohan indignantly._

"_Feh," Pan regarded his outburst with contempt. "You're such a hypocrite!"_

"_Pan!" Chichi exclaimed._

"_No, he is Grandma. When it calls for it, he's not willing to get his hands dirty, but you sure were quick to murder Trunks in cold blood!"_

"_That's enough Pan!" Chichi covered her face with her hands. Nothing good could come from the direction this conversation was going._

"_Mom it's okay," said Gohan. "Whatever mistakes I've made in the past, I will NOT massacre ten thousand people."_

"_Fine then." Goten folded his arms. "Let's just sit back and let the two forces do the massacring. I wonder how many bodies I'll be loading up in the truck tomorrow." He shrugged indifferently._

"_Your callous attitude is deplorable, and it's definitely not helping Goten!" Gohan slammed his fist on the table. The dense slab of Kingwood immediately gave in, splitting and splintering in the middle._

"_Careful there Uncle Goten" Pan smirked. "You know what happens when Papa gets mad." _

"_Oh my." Toma placed all his weight on his chair as he tried to pick himself up. He had been leaning all his weight on the table so when it caved, he caved along with it._

"_I'm so sorry Toma," Gohan rushed to his side, helping him settle back in his chair. When he turned around he found Goten standing right in his face._

"_**My**__ attitude is not helping?" Goten glared with eyes so devoid of warmth, they had no right resembling that of their fathers. "What about __**your**__ attitude big-brother? Huh? Stop being so passive and wake up!" He banged his hand against the wall. "Grandpa's Kingdom is being torn into pieces, Rhoecus' army is out of control!" he yelled, marching over to the little window to. He pointed at in the direction of Tent 2. "You saw the victims in that infirmary. Men are being butchered, young girls are being abducted and raped and you think that I'm the one with an attitude problem for wanting to act?"_

_Gohan said nothing._

"_This is a war." Goten declared harshly. "A human war. They'll be casualties in the end no matter what. If we target and take out Rhoecus' troops, the casualties of innocent civilians will reduce."_

"_Agreed," Pan piped in._

"_See, even Pan understands that this is the kind of tough decision needed to bring this war to an end."_

" _Goten, Pan...stop ganging up on Gohan. This whole mess is not his fault." Chichi spoke up. "It's mine."_

"_Mom," Goten's voice immediately softened as he walked over to her side. "Hey, Mom, don't say that. This is not your fault okay," He said gently, placing his hand on his shoulder._

"_I ran out on my duties as princess to play house with your good-for-nothing father for years and now look...everything is in pieces. It __**is**__ my fault. At the very least, I should have listened to your grandfather and allowed you kids to be registered and acknowledged as prospective heirs. At least then, one of you could have taken over when he died."_

"_Mom, don't think about it like that, you'll only upset yourself. Just remember what the doctor said about stress okay? Just take it easy." He patted her hand. "Pan, Gohan and I are going to go out there and eliminate this Rhoecus problem__** tonight**__." He turned cold eyes at his brother, eyes which quickly softened the minute they fell back on his mother. "By tomorrow morning, you and Toma can form a new council and rebuild this country."_

"_I said no Goten!"_

"_Don't think so highly of yourself big-brother." said Goten. "I need neither your permission nor approval. Pan, you coming?"_

"_Yep. Let's go kick some ass Uncle. These gloves of mine haven't seen action in a while." She grinned, cracking her knuckles as she followed Goten to the door._

"_And hey," she turned to her father. "Try not to look so stricken. We're strong and fast. We'll whoop those soldiers' butts and incapacitate them. We won't kill anyone we don't have to. But look out for the fireworks tonight,' cause you know we'll be blowing shit up."_

_And with that, niece and uncle flew out._

"_I'll pray that Pan is right. This burden should have never had to fall on you kids to begin with. It should have been mine," said Chichi. "Now those two are out there, getting their hands dirty. I just hope they can get through it without spilling anyone's blood." _

Rhoecus was the first to move his eyes, his hand closing into a fist. He glanced around the table, trying to read the faces of the traitors that had voted him out of his rightful position, but all twelve of the cowards had their eyes lowered, none daring to look him straight in the eye, except...of course for that bitch princess who'd orchestrated this whole thing to begin with.

Why? Why was she doing this to him? Since her return five years ago, she'd had had it in for him from day one. She'd opposed him at every turn, sniffing around and butting into matters that didn't concern her. He should have known that this had been her final goal all along - to kick him out of the council completely. He just...he just didn't understand why! He'd served her father diligently, he was honest and hard-working, so why? Why did she hate him so much? It was so unfair

"I have been but a humble servant of this council your highness," he bowed his head. "If it be its wish that I step down, so be it." He rose from his chair to make his exit.

"How gracious of you," said a stoic Chichi. "but don't scurry too far. There is a certain matter of a secret fund that Toma and the royal police wish to discuss with you."

Rhoecus swivelled around, startled. There was absolutely no way they could have caught on to that! No way.

"Unfortunately I have to make my leave," Chichi stood up. "It looks like I might be a grandmother today," she smiled as she made her way to the door. "Please feel free to carry on with the rest of the agenda without me."

_Hurry up and join us Pan. I promise you things will be different this time around._

* * *

"Oh, just admit it Enma dear," said the seductive voice of the giant woman towering over King Yemma's desk. "You just summoned me here hoping I'd change into this form didn´t you?" She leaned over the judgement table, her giant breasts pushing against his ceramic pen-holder, knocking it over.

The pen's rattled as they hit the floor and rolled.

Sweat pouring down his bushy sideburns, a red-faced King Yemma gulped. "I said change back, right now!" his voice boomed and bounced off the walls of the check in station.

The woman chuckled, violet eyes slanting seductively as she leaned in even closer. Thick tresses of purple hair fell all over his desk as she puckered her lips. "Don't be shy Enma," she pushed apart her robe even further. "I know it's been five hundred years."

"This is a formal hearing to discuss your fate! I'm warning you Shinganga, change back right now or face my Yemma Lock!"

"Don't make me laugh, you think so highly of yourself don't you? Since when has your pathetic lock ever been able to subdue me? You were no match for me back then, and you're still no match for me now." She closed her robe and pulled back. "Fetola," she chanted, making a gesture with her hand.

King Yemma sighed in relief as he watched her hair contract, her long limbs shorten, and her voluptuous curves trim down until she'd shrunk all the way back to her normal size. He wiped the sweat off his brow and straightened his tie. Thank the Kais it was over, he was feeling much more in control now that she was only a quarter of the length of his table.

"So then," she said. "What's this nonsense about a hearing? I've done nothing to break your petty rules."

"The matter of your premature release from solitary confinement was brought up in a meeting with the Kais."

An icy chill froze the room as she slanted her eyes, "You spineless Orge!" she hissed. "You don't fool me for a second! Those Kai maggots have no reason to look at me, I'm no threat." She took a step towards the table. "It was you, wasn't it? I know it's been churning your stomach these past few years – my relationship with Goku."

"That's right, I can't stand it!" his voice boomed. "I know you Shinganga, you're up to something and I'll personally damn myself down below before I let you manipulate Goku any further. Your influence on him ends today!"

"Still the same pathetic Enma Yemma. If the sorceress won't have you, then she won't have any freedom either?"

"This has nothing to do with us!" he exploded. "Ngaka Shinganga, it is my judgement as Lord of All Souls that your remaining years in solitary confinement be immediately re-instated."

"Oh, you and what army of maggots?" she sneered, levitating into the air. The silvery glow binding her craft pulsing from strain as she drew out every last drop of her magic to try and break through.

Sweat pooled between her breasts as she continued to push, but like every other time the binds just pushed back her efforts, sucking out every ounce of her strength. A few seconds later she crashed onto the floor, panting.

"So, the maggots finally come out of their holes," she breathed heavily as all four cardinal Kais stepped in. "Go ahead you filthy Kais, feast upon my flesh and send me back to that hole." She panted as she tried to get back up on her feet, disorientation from overexertion starting to set in. "Don't think for a second that I don't have a contingency plan." She staggered, but finally found her balance. "Before the sun sets on Earth today." She threw her head back to clear her face of the tangle of hair. "You," she pointed a shaky finger up at King Yemma. "You'll get off that ugly table and fall to your knees begging for my help."

King Yemma gritted his teeth. "You don't even have the power to stand, what can you possibly do from a pocket dimension?"

Shinganga smiled. "Before the sun sets, just remember that."

"Oh boy, quite the talker isn't she?" said South Kai. "Can we just get on with putting her away please? I got me a real strong fighter I'm preparing for the next tournament."

"Sounds good to me," said East Kai. Her pudgy stomach making a small bounce as she stepped forward. "Everybody ready?" she prompted.

King Kai sighed. He hated this. Hated it. He couldn't even guarantee that Goku wouldn't do something drastic when he found out. In his simple mind, a promise was a promise. And Shinganga was promised her freedom in exchange for aiding him. But now that freedom was being taken away, which meant...the promise was being broken.

He shook his head, his whiskers swaying to the side. He had no choice in this matter though. He was ordered by the Supreme KabitoKai himself. "I'm sorry Shinganga," he said, extending out his hands like the rest of the cardinals.

They released their energy.

"Before sunset," she formed the words on her lips as a white light engulfed her. She screamed in pain, squirming in place before finally breaking out into a loud laugh that sent chills down King Kai's spine. "Just remember who I am Enma, just remember who I was on my planet before I died!" she screamed as the power of the Kais sealed her away.

"Mind Weaver," King Yemma whispered.

* * *

"Piccolo! You're here too!" Goku exclaimed happily.

It was mid-day back on Earth and the waiting lounge in the Capsule Corp. Medical wing was full. News of Videl's condition had spread and all the interested parties had been arriving steadily. Mr Satan and his latest squeeze had been the first to arrive, followed by Goten who'd taken this opportunity to bunk school – though he'd disappeared with Trunks somewhere. Krillen and his wife had arrived thereafter, followed by Goku and Momu after completing his shoot. Counting Bulma, who'd been buzzing around making arrangements, the party was up to 9 including the new arrival - Piccolo.

"Looks like I am," said the green Namek. "Gohan's nervous energy has been disrupting my meditation all morning; thought I'd come down and see what the fuss is all about."

"Heheheh," Goku chuckled. "Aww, don't be shy to say you were worried Piccolo. I know you brought a sensu for Videl so Gohan wouldn't worry. Am I right?"

He grinned.

"Feh," Piccolo folded his arms. "How long is this gonna take anyway?"

"Let's see," Goku tapped his chin. "It took four hours last time and she's been in labour for more than three hours now, so I'll give it another half an hour or so" he chirped happily. "I can't wait!" He rubbed his hands.

"Um...Goku, what do you mean by last time?" Krilin blinked. "Videl's had more kids?"

"Heheheh, yeah that's right. She hasn't! She hasn't!" he scratched his head. "I was talking about um...Chichi."

"What's this?" Vegeta waltzed in with a dark chuckle. "Don't tell me you're still whining about your woman after all these years." He smirked.

Goku frowned, but Momu placed her hand on his arm before he could retort.

Bulma marched ahead to stand in her husband's face. "What the hell are you doing here Vegeta? It's certainly not to wish Gohan and Videl well."

Vegeta shrugged. "Just curious to see if the first offspring of the first saiyan-human half-spring will have any defects. You know, given the extra percentage of inferior human genes." He smirked.

"Urgh! Just shut-up and go back to your planet of superior beings already," said Bulma. "Oh that's right, you _can't_. Since you know, it went poof with the rest of your so-called superior kind."

"Hehehe," Goku laughed. "She got you there Vegeta."

"Oh, shut-up Kakarot."

And shut up he did. The easy laughter of seconds before dried up on the spot as his eyes fell on the newcomer. All six senses shut down, even a Special Beam Cannon charging up at a snail's pace could have snuck up on him. Dread dug a hole in his heart, filling it up with pain and fear. His instincts in the past couldn't have been more wrong. No, seeing her face definitely didn't make him feel better, it just made him _feel_.

The things he didn't want to feel. The things he'd spent the last five years practicing how not to feel.

"Hello Goku," Chichi broke the silence. "It's been a while."

* * *

_**It's been a while, but I've finally been able to get it together again. Let me know how its going for you, if indeed you're still out there reading.**_


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

...

Chichi smoothed her cold hands down her dress and pushed through the revolving doors of the medical wing. It was not as large as a conventional hospital, but it wasn't even close to being as small as a private clinic. She had to walk a fair distance before turning the corner that opened up to the spacious and luxurious waiting lounge.

"Urgh! Just shut-up and go back to your planet of superior beings already!"

She heard Bulma's voice loud and clear above the other murmurs.

"Oh that's right, you _can't!_ Since you know, it went poof with the rest of your so-called superior kind!"

Chichi couldn't help but smile, clearly nothing had changed with those two. She kept on walking, clenching and unclenching her fingers in an effort to relax. She was close now; the floor beneath her shoes had just changed from the glossy tiles of the entrance to the lush carpet of the lounge.

"Hehehe, she got you there Vegeta."

Thump. Thump. That voice - orotund, warm and carefree; a voice she'd recognise anywhere – Goku's.

Air, she needed air, to think he was here already it was just-

"Oh, shut-up Kakarot."

That was another familiar voice – Vegeta's. No one else would sound so grumpy or call Goku by his birth name.

She took a few more steps and just like that, she found herself standing before the small group of familiar faces assembled to witness Pan's birth.

Her eyes found his face immediately.

She gulped - nerves, anxiety, grief, pain...everything she'd been trying to suppress on the long journey here gushed out with no limit. She may have appeared composed to the onlookers in her sober houndstooth suit, looking ever regal and conservative, but...really, inside, the princess was nothing but a murky, sinking puddle of discomposure.

See, a comfortable drive from Mt. Frypan to West-City in the new DX hover car was a good 4 hours, which was more than long enough to rattle a woman seeing her ex for the first time in four years. She'd anxiously juggled keeping an ice-pack on her eye with changing her hair style several times. She'd fussed over the fall of her scarf as well as incessantly changing the coating of her make-up. She'd munched on crackers trying to fight the urge to chew on her nails. She'd even started a conversation with her chauffeur about his thoughts on the education system in Mt. Frypan—anything to not have to think about seeing him again.

Unfortunately, the driver was not much of a conversationalist; he'd murmured a few comments here and there and that was it. So in the end she'd run over what she'd say to her ex a thousand times, determined to be friendly, but composed no matter what.

However, standing before them now, as they all turned to stare at her in return, she found that, that resolution might be a lot more difficult to maintain than she'd thought.

Her eyes found his face immediately, but Chichi missed the opportunity to notice how those handsome features had just gone from laughing at Vegeta's expense to unabashedly stricken at the mere sight of her.

Oh no, she didn't see that at all. What she _did_ notice, what she couldn't have missed even if her eyes were dug out of her skull, were the perfectly manicured fingers of the hand belonging to the redhead standing beside him.

They were touching his arm lightly with such disgusting familiarity that it was all she could do to not yank them off and break that perfect little hand into an awkward angle.

So this was her then—the Momu Goten was always talking about.

Humph! Sure, she was pretty enough she supposed, if one cared for such loud and vulgar hair. But that dress really? Seems Goku's taste in women was far from sophisticated.

Still, a painful internal self-kick reminded her, sophisticated or common, beautiful or plain, whatever she was or was not, in the end it didn't matter because this redhead...this Momu had, in just two short years, become the one thing she'd never been, the one thing she would never be—Goku's choice.

And that...the weight of that truth, no matter her resolve to live the rest of her life without him, hurt in a slow swarm of relentless pain.

However, this was not the time for such thoughts. This was not the time to nest and lick one's wounds; this was a happy occasion, indeed probably the only thing she'd really looked forward to in these past five years. Pan was coming into the world today, and she was determined to see to it that she was greeted by a happy grandmother.

Clasping her hands before her, she tore her gaze from the redhead's fingers and held her head high. Ignoring the quiet stares from all eyes present, she walked through the silence that had befallen the previously lively room until she came to a stop just before _them._

_You're friendly, you're composed. You're friendly, you're composed_. She reminded herself as she took a deep breath.

"Hello Goku," she prayed for strength. "It's been a while." She managed a warm smile—_somehow_.

"Chi," she heard her nickname float from his mouth. It was more of a croak than a word; an unfamiliar, strangled, dry and painful sound from one who was always so sprightly.

A good look at his face and her heart sank. Goku wasn't wearing the look of a man determined to play the part of the friendly and composed ex. He wasn't smiling; he wasn't even trying to pretend to be happy to see her. He wore such a stricken alien expression, like...her very presence was an unwanted and poisonous intrusion in his space.

One by one, the binds on her composure began to unravel, elevating her heart-rate. Had she ever seen Goku like this? No, never.

She gulped, preparing to distance herself from the duo. Did he resent her presence that much? He who had always been able to smile through everything? Couldn't he at least pretend to be happy to see her? Really, Goku had some nerve! He was the one with a sleezy woman hanging on his arm and he had the nerve to look so stricken! Hmph! She didn't know quite what to expect, but certainly nothing good would come from one who looked at her with such...

"You're hurt," his eyes narrowed, his hand suddenly touching her face.

It was so unexpected that it really startled her.

Before she could speak, a light finger brushed and fingered the swollen and bruised flesh around her eye. She opened her mouth, perhaps to protest, perhaps to say something else, but the words dried up at the intensity in his eyes.

"Chichi what happened?" He held her face in both hands now, gazing down at her in an expression so familiar it made her ache as it searched her eyes for answers.

His hands against her skin were just as she remembered: firm but gentle, soft but not entirely smooth, adorned with a calloused finish at the edges of his palms. Most definitely, these hands, the feel of them against her skin, were just as she remembered.

Without thinking, she leaned into his touch like a kitten kneading into its owner, and sighed. What could she tell him?

Though the council meeting had been too soon after the punch for her eye to swell and discolour, this trip to West City had provided just about enough time for that to happen. She'd been diligent enough to keep her eye on ice while she was not fussing about her appearance during the trip, but the effects of Yamcha's powerful punch would not be held at bay. They were displayed on her face for all to see, apparently enough for Goku to forget that she was poison and touch her, his concern overwhelming any other thought or emotion.

"It's...it's nothing," she fought for control, composure, anything but the breathlessness threatening to overwhelm her. "T-Training, was distracted."

"Yamcha did this?"

"It wasn't his fault, really."

"Still, he should be watching his strength."

"Goku, I'm fine, really."

"Chi," was it a word, a whisper, a murmur? Either way, there was just too much of him, filling up all the space around her.

When did he get so close? His face was practically leaning in on her and every hair in her body agreed that he was just too damn close for comfort. What had gotten into him? Just a second ago he was looking at her like she was poison and now—

Another trace of his searching fingers along the lines of her face, "Maybe Dende could-" His hand moved from the injured site to aimlessly tracing her face.

Chichi couldn't believe herself. What the hell was she doing just standing around, leaning into his touch, enjoying the feel of it, revelling in the wash of concern in his eyes, and Kami, even the thick emotion in his voice was giving her a rush. What exactly was she doing?

"How obscene," muttered Vegeta in something akin to contempt as he folded his arms and turned away from the spectacle.

Obscene indeed, Chichi agreed with horror. Vegeta's disgust couldn't have come at a better time. She immediately pulled away, taking a few steps back even as her face protested against the loss of warmth from his fingers.

"Ahem," the redhead standing next to Goku cleared her throat. Vegeta's outburst had seemingly rescued her from her trance-like state of standing by, staring like the rest of the onlookers. "Well now Goku," she tossed that red hair back. "Aren't you going to introduce me?"

"Right," said Goku, his eyes never leaving Chichi's face. "Um...Momu, this is my wife Chichi."

Everyone in the room, widened their eyes, but Goku didn't even notice. He just went on with his introductions, "Uh Chi, this is my friend Momu."

"I see," said Momu. "Well then," she extended a slender hand towards Chichi. "It's good to finally meet you _Mrs. Son_."

Chichi found herself caught somewhere between a flush and a protest at Goku's blunder. You'd think that after five years he'd be used to calling her his ex-wife by now. Especially in front of his little girlfriend! Though, in all honesty, what was four years, compared to seventy? She supposed it was just a slip of the tongue.

She accepted the redhead's hand, giving it a firm shake.

It was tempting, so, so tempting to keep squeezing until she'd crushed it down to the last bone. But...she was friendly and composed, she reminded herself, so that wouldn't do.

"Nice to meet you too," she lied through a smile, though this one didn't quiet reach her eyes.

...

"You need to chill, nothing's gonna happen." Grand Kai lounged back as he grabbed the base of his curvaceous hookah pipe. "That sexy dame was just trying to rattle your whiskers," he dismissed, placing the tip of the hose against his mouth.

"I'll be happy to relax, just as soon as the sun sets on Earth without incident," said King Kai.

"Well, technically the sun has set in several places on Earth already," said the white-haired deity, just before he pulled long and hard on the hose.

King Kai frowned. "Yes Grand Kai, but I'll keep an eye on Goku's part of the world just the same."

"Suit yourself, but prepare to be scolded by Elder Kai when he learns that you haven't delivered the message to Goku."

"I'll take that chance. I'll let him know just as soon as this danger period passes."

"Well, tell you what Sonny. Grab a seat and have some of this pipe. I invited some of the girls from Planet Botle to come and shake it to some rock'n roll. Heheheh, and I'm not just talking about any girls, either. I'm talking about the ones that kept their bodies, if you know what I mean," he grinned, the f his up and down rhythm of his bushy eyebrows making his dark sunglasses dance to the same tune.

King Kai frowned. Grand Kai knew he had no interest in such matters, yet he still...Urgh...

"I think...I'll get back to Gregory and Bubbles now. I'll keep you posted."

...

The atmosphere had definitely taken a turn for the awkward.

After Goku had introduced her to Momu, Chichi had moved away from the duo as fast as possible. For starters, she was kicking herself for her little lapse of judgement; how could she have allowed him to touch her like that in front of all those people?

Secondly, despite her resolve to be friendly and composed, there was no way she was going to stand around and engage Goku and his girlfriend in idle chit-chat. She'd come far in these five years, but not that far.

So she'd moved away at the first opportunity, meandering around to politely greet the rest of the group: Piccolo and Vegeta, Krillin and his wife, Mr. Satan and his latest Squeeze.

Trunks and Goten were still nowhere to be found.

She'd then attached herself to Bulma, whose demeanour no matter the tension or awkwardness was just as talkative as ever.

"...so our rep said it was a little cumbersome 'cause they have to hire outside Frypan for all the technical staff," said the heiress.

"I know, I know, our little university has never been strong in the sciences, which is why I twisted Mr. Satan's arm three years ago and got him to finance the new Science and Technology Institute."

"Well like I said on the phone Chichi, you know I'm passionate about the sciences and Capsule Corp will assist however possible, but jeez, do you have to talk shop all the time? It's like I don't even know you anymore."

"What? Bulma! That's not true!"

"Yes, it is! Whether it's over the phone or on the rare occasions that I actually get to see you, you're always on about some project or other."

"You exaggerate,"

"Do I? Hmmm...let's see then...first it was the Rural Electrification Project, then it was the Martial Arts School, then the Foreign Investment Initiative, then you caused all kinds of drama in the Ministry of Health, then-"

"Oh alright, so I've been busy, I get it."

"Chichi, it's not that you've been busy that's the problem, the whole world is busy is trying to make ends meet, it's just that...I get the feeling that you don't make time for anything else. Seriously, I think I liked you better when all your energy was directed towards Gohan's education."

"Well, he's an accomplished young adult now isn't he? He's doing very well for himself. He doesn't need his mother smothering him."

"How are things with you two these days? Any better?"

Chichi shrugged. "Well, it's the best it's been since the divorce, but it's still..."

"Strained?"

"Yes, he's still so distant, it's exceptionally hard to bear. But I'm doing the best I can to give him as much time as he needs to forgive me."

"I'm sure he already has. With the baby coming, this is a perfect opportunity for you two to rebuild."

"I hope so," she smiled sadly. "I hate to admit it, but Gohan's never really looked at me the same, not since we came back from that trip in space and gave him and Goten the news."

...

"I can't accept this," said Gohan as he paced the short length of the living room.

Roughly he tugged at the dark spikes on his head, running his hands down his face, his head shaking in denial.

Goten was curled up between his parents on an old couch, his eyes following his older brother's movements. Chichi and Goku sat stiffly with the seven year old between them, both doing their best to avoid each other's eyes.

It was a tense moment in the usually bubbly Son household and Gohan's reaction to the news was only making the situation worse.

Shaking his head even more, Gohan turned to his parents and exploded: "I will never accept this; it's just coming out of nowhere!" His fist crashed down on the table with such force that the wood shattered; the whole structure crumpling to the floor.

Chichi jumped, startled; her hand moving to rest against her racing heart.

"Hey now, I know you're upset Son, but there's no need for that." said Goku.

"Are you guys kidding, a divorce? But why? Why?" He swivelled around, looking at both his parents with bleak eyes. "You were so happy in space, and that was just two weeks ago!" he accused them. "You even got re-married!" As far as he was concerned, this was coming out of nowhere, it just didn't make any sense!

To his outrage, his mother merely clasped both hands on her lap, saying nothing. She wore that infuriatingly stubborn expression on her face, and that more than the anything, scared him. Even more so when it was his father that did the talking.

"Son, your mom and I...we...your mom and I..." He struggled for words, and Gohan could just tell that he was having trouble too.

Gohan stole a quick look at his brother, his eyes were moving between the trio as he sucked on his thumb—a sure sign that he was worried and scared. And Gohan felt terrible, it was his fault. Goten was used to their mother's wrath. She would yell and scream and cry while breaking and bashing things, that was just the norm, but seeing his big brother like this...it was no wonder the little guy was scared.

"Your mom and I..."

Gohan willed himself to be calm for Goten's sake. He sat at the edge of the coffee table by his parents and tried to rail in his raging emotions.

"You and Mom, what Dad? You don't love her anymore? This makes no sense. What happened to you Dad, is this about your childhood memories of Vegetasei? I thought we were important to you!"

"Gohan, what I remember about the past means nothing. It's not important. Son, you know how it is with this power we have. You know they'll always be other threats, other battles. You know that no matter what, I'll have to be right there to fight them right? For you and your brother, for your mom, for everyone?"

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"It's hard on your mom. It's been a life of waiting and worrying. It's hard on her and she's suffered because of it. She's always the one getting left behind. Always alone, always..." He licked his lips, trying to stick to his resolve and not crumble before his son. "...and it's not fair on her. I wish I could guarantee that I'm never gonna get called off to train again, or to battle or even death, but you know as well as I do, that I can't."

"So you'd rather break mom's heart than stop fighting?"

"Gohan," Chichi tried to intervene.

"No Mom, I'm not a child anymore, I can't," his chest tightened, "I can't just say nothing when I know what this is gonna do to you!"

"Gohan please, this was my decision, not your father's. It's been a lifetime since we were together and I guess, we've sort of...um...grown apart and...look...I just...I want...I_ need _a different life. I need it. Please, try to understand."

"How can you say that Mom? How can you say that? You love Dad more than anything!"

"Yes, I love your father very much. He's the father of my children and I'll always care for him, but...too much time has passed, too much has happened and changed. I'm just not the same as I was. I can't be married to him anymore."

"M-Mom." He couldn't believe what he was hearing. His whole belief system was crumbling right before his eyes and he just couldn't breathe.

"Gohan," Goku placed his hand over his shoulder. "We'll still be a family, just-"

"No we won't!" He pulled away from his father. "What about Goten and I? Will we even get to see you Dad?"

"I'm not going anywhere. This house is my home, _our_ home, and with your mom moving back to Fire Mountain, you and Goten will have two homes now."

"I'm going to quit school," he blurted.

"What?" As expected, Chichi shrieked.

"I'm quitting school. I'm going to focus on training. I'll become strong and finally live up to my potential. Dad will never have to fight another battle again. I'll make sure that Goten and Trunks get into shape as well. We'll take care of this planet, just you watch."

"Son," Goku began.

"See Mom," he cut his father off. "Dad will never have to fight again, so there's no need for a divorce. I'll keep him safe, he'll be right here by your side, and the two of you can finally have the happy ending that you deserve. Just leave everything to me."

"Gohan," Chichi sighed, "I can't force you to go to school, and I can't force you not to train if that's what you really want. Honey, I love you and your brother very much, and I know this must be upsetting for you both. But I'm not going to change my mind, your grandpa's on his way to get me and—"

"Today?"

"There's no point in putting...Gohan? Gohan wait!"

But he wasn't listening; he took the door down in his rush to get out and launched himself into the air.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd flown with tears in his eyes, but so high up in the sky, at such speed, they dried up as they poured out, the wind was just too strong.

He didn't consciously have a destination, but in no time at all he was banging at Videl's window.

He'd sensed his father's energy hovering outside for a while, but he never came out, at some point his father had given up and left.

He curled up in Videl's arms instead, losing himself in her, wondering how she truly felt about him. Did she feel the same pull that he did? A pull so intense and severe it was almost painful to bear?

"Videl, do you love me?" He'd had no choice but to stop and ask, otherwise what was he even doing here? Being with her this way, sharing this kind if intimacy.

Videl didn't even open her eyes; she moaned and pulled down his head, her mouth seeking his in an urgent kiss.

It was hardly ideal, certainly not easy, but Gohan had no choice but to pull out and climb off of her. And with the separation of thier bodies, she finally opened her eyes: "W-Wha what are you doing?"

"My parents are getting a divorce," he said, sitting up, running his hands down his face.

"Wha..." her face contorted in confusion as she sat up as well.

"They just told us, my mom is l-leaving," he choked.

"I don't understand."

"I don't either," he clutched his head.

"How can that be? They just got married didnt they?"

"That's exactly what I said! But I saw the look on my mother's face when they told us—she means it Videl. It's really over for them, and I just..." He didn't have the words.

"I'm so sorry Gohan, you must feel...you must feel like you lost a part of your reality. I know how that goes, but one can never fully understand what it takes to make a marriage work, not unless you've walked everyday in their shoes."

Gohan shook his head, "I just don't know what to believe anymore. I don't know if I can believe in love anymore, my parents were-"

"Hey, look at me," she cupped his face. "I don't know your parents all that well, but their story has definitely inspired me. Don't lose faith. They both look like fighters to me—don't give up, okay?"

"You didn't see my dad's face, I think he's given up. And that's the worst part, 'cause Dad never gives up!"

"Sometimes a little space can give a little perspective," she pressed her forehead against hers. "I know that these few weeks back on Earth, away from the spaceship, away from _you_, have definitely given me new perspective."

"They have?"

"Yes, Gohan...I don't know the future, I don't know what might happen and I can't promise that we'll always be together, but I promise you this: The way I feel about you now, as creative as my imagination can get, it has yet to imagine a situation that would make me give up on you, okay?"

"Are you sure?" he closed his eyes and pressed his own forehead back at hers. "'Cause I don't think I could take it if you were still undecided about us. Back in space, you said my feelings scared you,"

"They did, but not anymore," she kissed his nose. "It's just you and me, okay?"

"What if I quit school to devote my life to fighting for the planet? Will you still have me then? My mom clearly couldn't handle it." he frowned.

Videl just laughed, "That would be such a relief! Then you wouldn't be able to nag me about my own crime-fighting," she grinned.

"Videl, I'm serious. I might quit school, and free my dad from this burden of—"

"Gohan, don't punish yourself. There's no reason to trade in what you love for something you're not passionate about. If you want to fight, fight. But you don't have to give up everything just to do it."

"You think I'm passionate about school?"

"I know you are, you're just a big nerd at heart after all."

He smiled. "I'm not so sure, it's just something my mom always pushed me to do, but today…" A frown replaced the smile on his face. "It was as if she didn't even care if I quit or not. She basically told me to do whatever; I just don't understand who she's become."

"Well, if she's going her own way, then maybe she just wants you to do the same."

"I intend to," his face hardened.

He didn't go back home that night, nor the one after that, or the one after. And as cosy as sneaking around in Videl's house was, it was hardly a permanent solution, so he'd set out to find a place of his own. One big enough for a permanent spot for his brother, should things with his parents go south.

He loved his father, but he wasn't so sure that Goku was up to being a single parent without help. He was also concerned about what this divorce would do to his brother emotionally.

But as it turns out, he needn't had worried. Goten was just as happy as ever.

Truth be told, he didn't understand why his big-brother was so upset by this divorce thingy, it didn't make any sense to him. As far as he could tell he had more than he'd ever had before—a daddy to play with whenever he wanted–and play they did! all the time, without rules or restrictions!

He also had Gohan and Videl in the city, which was great! He could go there and do all kinds of cool stuff whenever he felt like it. Videl was pretty cool, she took him to see all kinds of things, and to try out all kinds of cool and weird things to eat. She even took him with her when she went crime fighting, which was great! Gohan felt better when he was there to protect Videl when he couldn't be there so it worked out great! He even had his own little Saiyaboy costume.

Even more, he had his mom and grandpa in Mt. Frypan, which was great too 'cause people treated him like he was important and stuff.

Sure, he was seeing everyone separately now, his mom in one place, his dad in another and his brother in yet another place. But, sometimes Gohan and Videl would come to 439 to hang out with him and his dad and they'd do all kinds of fun and cool stuff.

"So I'm not sad at all Gohan, I promise. I'm having lots of fun!" he reassured his brother.

They were walking along the massive grounds of Mr. Satan's house with matching ice-creams. Today was graduation and the Champ had thrown a big to do for Videl's entire class. The invitations extended to all their friends and families too.

Watching his brother happily lick at the stack of ice-cream balls before him without a care in the world, Gohan decided then and there that it was time to stop looking back. His parents had carved their own path, now was the time to carve his own.

"I'm glad to hear it squirt, 'cause after this party, I'm going to kidnap Videl and marry her," he grinned.

"That's a great game Gohan! Then I'll turn into Saiyaboy and come rescue her!"

...

She pushed, but nothing came out.

She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. She tried to go a thousand years back, when she'd still lived, when her grandmother had still lived and tried to hold onto that moment, that feeling, that first time when she'd taught her about the crafts.

A skinny girl with a head full of wild purple hair, she hadn't been much to look at, not much to notice until that day. She'd touched it that day, drawn it out of herself and weaved it into a shape, an order, a sequence that she desired.

Hundreds of years later, they would inscribe scrolls about her, engrave stones and place useless protective charms to keep her out of their minds.

It was that power that she sought now, for without it, she was doomed to this weightless existence of nothingness in this dimension floating at the centre of nonexistence.

She pushed, and delved and tried to summon every ounce of craft taught or created, but nothing she did had any effect. The binds were as solid as they'd ever been.

Sweat pooling under her arms, behind her back, down her neck and down her face, she slumped forward and gave up.

There was no choice but to use the feather light traces of her Boloi that she'd scattered in his dreams. If only she'd known that she was to be summoned and imprisoned today, then she would have made better preparations.

She was drained from pushing to reach a power that would forever remain out of her reach. She was pissed that that Orge Enma had resisted her giant form, but more than anything she was irritated that she'd left herself vulnerable to be banished here, with only enough lingering energy to create a basic block.

"You'll forgive me for this Goku, I know you will," she whispered, and then she shut her eyes and started on her tapestry.

...

Bulma placed her ear against the door and frowned. "Hey Chichi, what's taking so long in there?"

"Bulma! How inappropriate!" shrieked Chichi from the other side of the door. "Why did you follow me to the bathroom?"

"Because it's been more than fifteen minutes and you haven't returned, now open up!"

"Get lost!"

"Is that something a Princess should be saying? Open the door or I'll override the system."

"Eep!" the door flew open, and Bulma found herself being dragged in, with the door shutting behind her.

"Ow! I'm not one of your ruffian villagers Chichi, that's gonna leave a mark." Bulma rubbed the spot where Chichi's hand had gripped her. "What are you...oh," she swallowed her words when she saw her friends face. "Jeez Chichi, look at you, it's almost swollen shut now!"

"Don't just stand there and point out the obvious, help me! Can't you see that this ice pack has melted? It's completely useless now!"

"Oh alright, come...there's an elevator that can take us to the main house at the back. Let's get something cold on that eye."

"Okay, but..." she twiddled her fingers.

"But what?"

"As long as we don't pass through the lounge okay?"

Bulma grinned. "You're so transparent you know that? Don't worry, the elevator is the other direction."

They walked down the passage, headed in the opposite direction as the lounge.

"We should hurry though, I'm sure Videl's pushing by now," said Bulma.

"Yeah, we should hurry," Chichi agreed. "By the way Bulma—"

"Oh there you are!" a familiar voice interrupted her.

They both turned their heads to find Momu rushing towards them, red hair flaying all over her face.

Chichi frowned.

"Oh hey Momu, you looking for me?" asked Bulma.

"Yeah," she said breathlessly. "I wanted to say bye," she breathed as she came to a stop.

"You're leaving already? But the baby—"

"I know, but that idiot husband of mine," she shook her head. "He overexerted himself at tennis trying to show off, now he's-"

"Don't tell me, another asthma attack?" quirked Bulma.

"You know it! He's fine, but it was bad enough to get him admitted, so I'm heading out to pick him up. Maybe we'll swing by later if he's up to it."

"Well then shoo, shoo...go rescue your man." said Bulma. "It's always something with him jeez. How you guys even manage a round of sex with that chest of his I—"

"The same way you manage it with that alien of yours without being broken in two, now shut up and stop embarrassing me in front of a real life Princess," she smiled. "It was very interesting to have met you," she spoke directly to Chichi, "interesting indeed. But now, I gotta run, ciao!"

As soon as she disappeared down the corridor Chichi poked Bulma in the chest. "Did she just say...husband?"

"Yes, why?"

"Then what the hell is she doing with Goku if she's married?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb with me Bulma. I heard it all from Goten, that fluzzy is practically living with him!"

"Living...Huh," Bulma blinked, "You...oh! Pahahahahah!" she burst out laughing. "You thought...you think that Goku and Momu...that they're...Oh my Kami Chichi! That's the funniest thing I've ever heard! Now it all makes sense!"

Chichi pursed her lips. "It's not funny Bulma, if they're not together then what the hell is she doing with Goku?"

"You really don't know?"

"Do I look like a mind reader? No I don't know okay? All I got is snippets from Goten! If she's not his girlfriend, then what the hell is she?"

"Goku's her boss."

"Excuse me?"

"She's Goku's manager."

Chichi pursed her lips. "Just what the hell are you talking about?"

Bulma sighed. "Come, let's walk. It's a long story. I'll tell you all about it on the way to the kitchen, that eye is not getting any better you know."

"Alright, let's go."

They marched on as Bulma prepared to tell her story.

"It was about three years ago," she began...

...

Through the bright artificial lighting, the quiet humming of the a/c, and the constant whirring of machinery, a frustrated Bulma cursed. "Damn it!" she slammed her hand against the large mass spectrometer as she swivelled back her stool to stare at the simulated images on her screen.

The elemental compositions of all the samples Sekei had brought back on his last trip in space were all useless. None of them were a match for this 'Rk'.

Two years ago, upon their return from dragonball hunting, Goku'd made good on his promise to write down the formula for the regenerative fluid used in the Cold-Empire healing tanks. Unfortunately, the chemical composition of the healing fluid included a compound consisting of two parts Hydrogen and one part Rykersin –an element Bulma'd never seen or heard of.

Goku'd been no help, he had no idea what this 'Rk' was; only the formulae that his father had made him memorize. Bulma could only assume that Goku's father had assumed that any scientist/chemist/pharmacist worth their salt would be able to replicate the fluid given the formula. Which Bulma could understand, she would have no problems replicating it either, if only she knew what the fuck this 'Rk' was!

It was so frustrating, being so close to the secrets of something that could change modern medicine forever, and yet...be so far.

Pushing up the rim of her glasses with one hand, Bulma impatiently scoured through her shelf with the other. She picked up a piece of gum and tore at the paper wrapper. Squinting her eyes she stared sourly at the rotating atomic level imagine simulated from the STM probe as she popped the nicotine gum into her mouth.

Damn it! What was it? What was this stupid Rk?

"Bulma are you in here?" The annoyed voice of her husband rang as he pushed the lab-door open so hard that it went off its hinges.

"Vegeta! That makes the fifth door this month!" She tossed the empty wrapper at him, only to gape...absolutely stunned by his appearance.

"I'll break down every door on this property every blasted hour if you don't do something about Kakarot!" he stormed in.

"Kami Vegeta!" she practically flew of her stool. "What happened to you? Did Goku do this to you?'"

"No. Bastard didn't even show up for battle."

"Battle?" Bulma's eyes sprang out. "What do you mean battle? Have you been out provoking people?"

Dark eyes regarded her coolly. "Don't be ridiculous. As if I'd waste my time with weaklings. Some idiots fleeing from a planet Teronko prison decided to crash land here. Seems you Earthlings make quiet a tasty snack for the creatures," he grinned.

"What?" Bulma shrieked. "Vegeta! Are you fucking joking?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" He tore of the remnants of his burnt and tattered armour, tossing them into the bin. "Those ugly idiots blew some strange fire out of their pores and burnt my clothes off, that's why I look like this." Sitting down on a chair, he pulled out what was left of his boots. He then marched to the sink and splashed water on his arms and face. It did nothing to rid the dark smudges of soot though.

"Vegeta! I can't believe you!" Bulma placed her hands on various parts of his body to examine him. "You went off to face some alien monsters without even telling me! What if something had happened to you?"

"Don't be stupid Bulma." Vegeta removed her hands from his body as he marched across the room to the heavy-duty laboratory fridge. "Do I have to report to you every time I squash some insects under my boot? They were just worthless beasts." He pulled at the insulated doors and grabbed two cans of soda. "Not even worth the time it took to fly out to greet them." He chugged down the contents and tossed the empty cans into the bin. "But that's not my point of coming here. The point is Kakarot!"

"Listen Vegeta," Bulma sat back down on her stool. "I don't have time to listen to your complaints about Goku besting you on the battle field. If you'd been the kind of man who thought about other things except fighting, you might have paid attention to the work of the scientists on your planet and I wouldn't be pulling out my hair trying to figure out what Rk is!"

"It's not my fault that your tiny human brain can't grasp the superior concepts of Saiyan science,"

"Oh please, who do you think you're fooling oh mighty Prince? Let's not forget that it was the Tuffles that came up with anything even remotely intelligent. Your lot was and still is as stupid and as barbaric as ever." She punched extra hard on the keys as she gave the computer instructions. "You're not hurt right?" she turned from the screen momentarily and roamed her eyes over his half-naked body–dirty, but perfectly intact. "Good. Now then, get out. I'm trying to work."

A vein began to pulse on the prince's neck. "I never said that Kakarot bested me on the battlefield you mule-headed presumptuous woman." He inserted himself in the small space between her stool and her screen. "I was trying to tell you that those beasts were emitting a very loud and sinister energy that Kakarot would have been the first to sense. With that transmission technique of his, he should have been first on the scene. But he didn't even show up to defend these precious humans he claims to love so much."

"Well, he's not the only defender around here you know." Bulma glared, annoyed at this continued interference. "Goku's going through some stuff right now. Give him a break. You managed just fine without him didn't you?"

"You miss the point as usual. It's been two years since that worthless female left him! How long does he plan to mope around? It's disgusting! He is a Saiyan warrior, his very heart beats for the thrill of battle. He should have been the first one on the scene, itching for a chance to swat at those annoying flies. That's how it is."

"He probably sensed that you were on the way and decided not to come."

"Again, that's not the point!" he snapped.

"I don't think there is a point!"

"Listen up Bulma." He pointed a finger at her. "When I went to confront him, he was holed up in some cave like a damn animal. He said Goten was with that stupid mother of his this week, so there was no reason for him to be staying in his home. I tried to beat some sense into him and..."

"Let me guess, you lost _again_." said Bulma flippantly.

"That would have been tolerable. But that bastard didn't even put up a fight. He just let me beat the tar out of him. He let me win! How dare he?"

Bulma shook her head. "You should just leave Goku alone, he'll forget about Chichi eventually and-"

"He won't." he said simply. "He can move on and find another to warm his bed if he chooses. However, as much as you all like to pretend that he's human. He is not. I don't know about the half-breeds, but when it comes to what you humans define loosely as 'love', Kakarot has the same inborn pattern of behaviour that exists in every member of the Saiyan race and, because it is embedded in the genetic code, it cannot be overcome by force of will."

"Oh here we go again," Bulma rolled her eyes. "Another lecture on the superiority of Saiyan-love."

"Fine, don't listen," Vegeta stepped out of her way. "But rolling your eyes cannot rewrite genetic coding. To Kakarot, that woman will forever be the one. Moping around in some hole, waiting to 'get-over-her' is going to get him nowhere. He needs to grow up and fight for her, or find other things to distract him. He's not the only one who has to live a life of bitter disappointment and regret for not ever getting the things he wants more than his own life."

"A life of bitter disappointment? You jerk! If that's all Trunks and I are to you then please, by all means, let yourself be possessed by Babidi again. I'm sure _that_ will be far more fulfilling for you," she snapped bitterly.

Vegeta sighed, placing his chin on top of her head as he traced a finger on her chin. "Don't put words into my mouth Bulma. You know that's not what I meant."

Bulma opened her mouth to speak, but Vegeta slid his finger to her lips to shush her. "Listen carefully Bulma," he whispered. "The only reason Kakarot's accepted this pointless separation from his wife is because he too likes to pretend that he's human. It won't last, and when he snaps you'll wish you'd listened to me." He pulled away and headed for the door.

"You're just trying to scare me. Goku is a sweet and kind soul. He's not one to just snap. That's your department."

"Fine," he stepped over the fallen door. "Turn your back on your so-called friend. Let him wallow in idle self-pity for a bit longer and just see. Just don't come running to me when it all blows up in everyone's face."

Bulma gritted her teeth at his disappearance and jumped off her stool. She poked her head out the door and screamed after him. "What would you have me do Vegeta? It's not as if I know how to distract him. If a battle doesn't even interest him, if a fight won't even stir him, then what the hell will?"

"That's your problem, not mine."

...

"Hold the doors!" Momu yelled as she raced to the elevator, phone tucked under her ear. She slipped through the crack of the closing doors and squeezed herself in by pushing the occupants back as she hung up, slipping her phone into her purse.

As soon as the doors opened, she was the first to push out. Keys in hand, heels clanking, she made her way through the parking lot to find her car.

_Ring. Ring. Ring._

She rolled her eyes as her phone went off again. "Momu Speed, you've got ten seconds to state your business." She answered as she unlocked her car.

_A chuckle from the other end, "Is that any way to greet your boss?"_

"If that boss wants me to make my flight so I can poach for her the most talented aero-car designer in ten years, then yes, absolutely," she laughed, slipping into the driver's seat. "What's up Boss?"

"_I'm afraid you're gonna have to miss that flight, I have a new project for you."_

"You're joking right?" she exclaimed in disbelief. "You've wanted this Motheo kid for months, and now when I finally have a shot at reeling him in—"

"_I know, I know, and I still want him, very much indeed. This new engine we're finalizing combined with his slick designs will take the aero-car market by storm. But...you've already done all the ground work on this one, let someone else bring in the kill. I have a project that only you can handle."_

"You know how much I hate leaving my prey to someone else, but alright. You're the boss, I'll bite. I'll have to leave this to Jaz then, he speaks car better than me anyway."

"_Good, I'm in my lab on the third floor. Come up, let's have a talk."_

"A talk?" she arched a perfectly shaped brow. "A name is all I need to go on, you know that."

"_I know, I know. I'm not questioning your head-hunting skills; I know you're number one in the industry."_

"Hmm...a free compliment from the Boss Lady? It's been a long time since you've ever had to butter me up. Now you have me intrigued. Could this new project have to do with poaching a member of the SS for Capsule?"

"_Don't be absurd, I'd never ask you to do something illegal. Let's just say, that this is a little different from your every-day head-hunting."_

"Oh?"

"_Instead of finding me the perfect candidate, I need you to find the perfect job for a special candidate." _

….

Fuck. Bulma wasn't kidding. This really _was_ the middle of nowhere!

Climbing out her car, Momu cursed as her heals sank into the damp soil beneath the wild grass. She wiggled as she tried to pull out, the figure-hugging beige dress not giving her much room for manoeuvrability. "Ever heard of a lawnmower? Or a foot-path? Hump!" she muttered as she trekked on. It was an effort to pull out an embedded heel, take a step, sink into the soil again, only to have to pull out and do it all over again. "Like sex with a damn virgin." The tips of her beloved shoes would be ruined for sure and this was an exclusive pair she'd bought overseas on one of her 'hunts'.

As soon as she was at the door, she pounded rudely with the base of her fist. "Hey, you in there! Son Goku! Open this damn door!"

It took a few seconds accompanied by some squeaky creaking, but sure enough, the unimpressive badly-in-need-of-vanish wooden door cracked open.

"Um…yes?" said a voice from the door.

A perfect bicep rippled as the man's arm moved to rub his eyes. He'd obviously been sleeping, those bare feet, those creased orange pants and that perfectly sculptured torso were but dead giveaways of his previous past time.

_Well hello to you Mr Son._ Momu fanned herself.

_Fuck you Bulma, you said this friend of yours was a naive, unskilled, uneducated, mentally stunted, socially inept sweet guy. You said nothing about this hotness that puts even the legendary Olibu's statues to shame. _

Under her sharp scrutiny, it was obvious to see that he'd been in some kind of fight, but he looked like he'd taken it well. If anything those bruises and cuts here and there added a little something spicy to the wild man mix. Hmm, with a shower, a few nice clothes and she could definitely work with this.

"Are you Son Goku?" She didn't wait for an invitation. She simply slipped into the house uninvited through the small space between his tall frame and the door.

"Uh..yeah, I'm Goku. Who are you?" The man blinked in confusion as she slipped into his house.

"I'm from the East District Government; I'm here to repossess your property," she shrugged, stepping over a pile of an unidentified mess on his floor, as she tossed her purse onto the couch.

"Huh? Repossess? What's that?"

Momu stood in the middle of the lounge with her legs parted – well, as far as that tight fitting number would allow anyway. She took a slow 360 turn as she looked around her surroundings, and then watched him close the front-door behind him as he joined her. His face was the perfect image of confusion.

"To repossess is to take back, to take away."

The man tilted his head to the side, a bicep flexing as he moved to lightly scratch his collar-bone. "What do you wanna take away?"

"Everything." said Momu, stepping over more junk on the floor as she moved towards the large bay window overlooking the front garden. "This house, this land." She swept her hand outside and stuck her head out the window.

Goku's eyes followed the little beige dress as it rode all the way up her thighs.

"Your car," she continued, "that big satellite on the roof giving you cable and internet." She then popped her head back inside, turning to face him. "What else..." she walked from the window and began to tour the house, making a great show of looking for more items to pick out. "What else..." she moved down the corridor and started poking her head into the other rooms.

Goku scowled as he followed behind her. "You can't just-"

"Let's see...all this furniture, though I have to say it doesn't look like it's worth much." She toured the entire house, bedrooms, bathrooms and all, picking on random things here and there until she was back where she started. "Oh! And that bathing-barrel I saw outside." She beamed at him, seemingly proud of herself for remembering it. "So yeah, you know, just about everything you got."

"Hey now." Goku's voice dropped. "That's not a very nice thing to say lady. You can't just come to someone's home and threaten to take their stuff."

"Oh? And why not?" She stumbled over more items strewn on the floor until she was standing right in-front of him. "Tell me Goku," she poked him in the chest. "When was the last time you made a property tax payment for all this land ey?"

"Ah...ah...choo!" he sneezed, and rubbed his nose. "A property what?"

"When was the last time you renewed your air space license for your hover car?"

"What's that?"

"I don't see a solar panel or a whirlwind out there; you're running a diesel generator for electricity right?"

"Uh yeah, I think so. Ox King set up all that electricity stuff when Chichi...ah...ah...achoo!" he sneezed again, "when Chichi and me got married."

"How touching. Tell me Goku, when was the last time you made a payment to DSEAR to send over an inspector to renew your Petroleum license?

"Dear who?"

"DSEAR, you know – The Dangerous Substance and Explosives Atmospheres Regularors?"

Goku blinked down at her, then leaned down and sniffed the air around her. "Never heard of them."

"Ahem," Momu cleared her throat and backed up a step. Just what was he doing sniffing at her like that? "They're the guys that give you permission to store more than 40L of diesel in your home," she explained. "It's a flammable and dangerous substance, the quantities you've been keeping here for your personal consumption are enough to set this entire forest ablaze if not handled correctly."

Goku scowled. "I never heard of those guys." He held his arms. "Don't see why I need their permission. It's my house and you smell kinda weird. "

"Well," said Momu, "The law doesn't care if it's your house or not!" annoyed that he'd say such a thing about her favourite fragrance. "You do know what the law is don't you?" She glared at him, hands resting on her hips challengingly.

Goku pouted, "I'm not stupid you know, of course I do."

"Mmhmm..." Momu backed up to the couch and pushed some DVD's lying there in a heap aside to make herself comfortable. "So you know the law, but you just choose to ignore it–I see."

"That's not true. I always try to do the right thing. Just didn't know about that stuff–sounds confusing. Chichi always takes care of all the paper stuff."

"Oh, great!" Momu jumped off the couch to stand on her feet enthusiastically. "So tell her to take care of it then–problem solved!"

"I can't."Goku slumped his shoulders, his turn now on the couch. "She left." He hung his head. "I'm not allowed to see her or talk to her. I..."

"I see." She cut him off. "Then there's no choice, I'll just make a quick call and all the...let's see..." she counted on her fingers. "Five authorities whose laws you've been shamelessly breaking will just come and help me take everything from you." She reached into her purse.

Goku's eyes widened in alarm. "I can't let you do that!" he snatched the phone from her hands.

"Oh, come, come Goku," she made a clap with her hands as she stood up, then gestured for him to give the phone back. "Don't be so dramatic. It's not like you're attached to any of this stuff. I'm sure you'll be just fine living in the forest. It doesn't even look like you spend much time here anyway; doesn't even look like you do much with your time except get beat up." She beckoned for the phone a second time, but then dramatically touched her forehead as she exclaimed: "Oh, that's right, you'll probably not even have the freedom to bum off in the forest. Just a prison somewhere, to pay for all the laws you've been breaking. Dear me." She sighed dramatically.

"I can't allow that," he closed his fingers around her phone and crushed it. "I know what a prison is okay? It's where bad people go. I can't waste time there, I have to be here for Goten and Gohan – nothing is gonna get in the way of that. I can't allow anyone to take this home. I'm not the only one that needs it. My son Goten lives here too every other week and Gohan comes to visit whenever he has a break from school. There's also Lamano who has a cottage out back, she stays here when Goten's around to take care of things. I can't let anyone take this home from them."

Momu tried not to let the shock of seeing her precious phone crushed to fine dust right before her eyes get to her. She composed herself enough to feign surprise: "You have kids?"

"Two boys." Goku nodded.

"I see," she reached into her purse and pulled out a second phone. "Might have to report you to social services too, then your kids will be another thing that will be taken from you. You'll be forbidden from seeing them."

Goku scowled. "I think you're making me a little angry now. I would never let anyone stop me from seeing my kids no matter what."

"Big words. But a father that can't take care of himself, that can't take care of his belongings, that cannot take care of his own kids, doesn't deserve them." She gave him her most serious face.

"I take care of Goten just fine when he's here. Gohan too, even though he's all grown up and living in the city with his girlfriend."

"You don't say." She braced herself and put her tiny little frame right in front of him again, glaring up to him as much as she could. "Tell me Goku, do you even know where Gohan gets the money to pay for his rent?"

"Rent? I'm not sure, maybe Chichi...ah...ah," he backed away from her. "Choo!"

"What about how much it costs to send him or Goten to school?"

Goku blinked, "Um, I think Gohan has some fund or bursary or something like that. I think."

"You think? What about Goten? Private schools are not free you know. There's tuition, books, clothes, food, pocket money, entertainment. When was the last time you paid for all the things your sons need?"

Goku scratched his head. "I...uh...Lamano always..."

"Oh yes. Lamano, that's your housekeeper right?"

"Yes, she used to work for Chichi's dad. She takes care of everything."

"Tell me Goku, when was the last time you paid her a salary at the end of the month? Or gave her money for shopping? Hmm? Just where does all the food, all the cleaning products, the gardening products, the fabric to make your clothes, the gas in the car, just where does it all come from huh?"

"I...uh...I'm not sure, Lamano always just..." He scratched his head. "I'm sure Chichi left her some money to uh-"

"I see. Poor woman probably has to steal, just to feed you and your kids. Just to keep this house going. What a shame. I might have to report her too."

"Whoa! That's not true. I'm sure Chichi gives her money or something. Stop it with these threats about taking my stuff and getting the people I care about into trouble."

"Stop or what?" she eyed him curiously. "You'll hurt me? Crush me like you did my phone? Hmm?" red tendrils dangled as she pushed her face so close to his their noses almost touched.

Goku flayed his arms with huge eyes. "Wha...No! No! I never said that! I would never..."

"Is this what you want your wife to think of you?" She swept her hand around everything. "That she was right to leave you? That you're just a mess, a bum, a man whose only use is on the battlefield hmm? Is this what you want her to believe, that in the end, Son Goku will always be an irresponsible man that can't even take care of his children without her help?"

Goku frowned.

"Well? Is it?"

"This is not how it is all the time you know. When Goten is here for his week with me, so is Lamano. The house is clean and stuff, and when he's back from school we play and talk and hunt and train and I always make sure that he eats well and sleeps on time. I don't know how to do the paper stuff that Chichi and Gohan did. I never had to," he said defensively. "No one ever showed me how." He finished that last part in a defeated whisper.

Momu retreated, deciding she'd pushed enough. "Listen up Son Goku," her demeanour softened. "Today is your lucky day." She slipped the second phone back into her purse.

"Lucky...day?"

"Correct. I'm not really here to take your stuff – that was just a stretch. I'm actually here to help you."

Goku blinked. "Huh...you are?"

"I brought you a little present Goku." She reached into her purse again. "Here, take a good look at it."

Goku grabbed the picture from her hand and...his eyes sprang out like yoyo's as all the blood rushed into his face. "Don't show me that Geez! I'm married!" He handed it over like it had burned his fingers.

"Correction. You're divorced, two years now," she said bluntly.

Goku winced. "Still though," he held out his index finger and pointed. "There was no reason to show me that...that..."

"You got a good look didn't you?" she glared at him. "Notice the difference?" she took a few steps back. With her hands on her hips she twirled for him.

"Uh...well...sure...your breasts grew back, your hair too. Plus you don't look all thin and green like in the picture. Why would you chop off your breasts like that anyway? Looked kinda weird and painful." he stared innocently.

"I had no choice you know!" she stared at him. Was he for real? "It's called cancer Goku, I had it in both breasts. I was sick and green and in a lot of pain for a long time. It was all vomiting, couldn't stand on my own, it was a miserable, miserable time. I lost my hair from chemo and let the doctors cut off my breasts to remove the cancer. I really thought I was gonna die, but I didn't."

"So you got sick huh? I had a heart virus once. Hurt real bad. I didn't get all green looking and thin like you though. Sorry you had to go through that. You look pretty good now though, nice and curvy and...um...I'm glad your breasts grew back, their nice and big and – Ow! Hey! What was that for?"

"Humph! That's for being a pervert! Don't get any ideas, I realize that I'm gorgeous, but I'm married." She folded her arms, a disapproving look on her face.

"Wha...I was not...I was just...oh man." He shook his head.

"My point is," she cleared her throat. "My breasts didn't just magically 'grow back' as you so nicely put it."

"They didn't?"

"No. I had to wait a really long time to undergo a very long, very painful surgery to replace them with fake ones. Bigger and better ones." She grinned, as she cupped them to emphasize her point.

Goku just stared at said breasts.

"Close that jaw and stop staring. I told you, I'm married."

"Heh heh heh," he dipped his head, trying to hide his grin. "Sorry was just wondering if I could tell the difference without...you know..." he made a gesture with his hand.

"How interesting," remarked Momu. "Naive, unskilled, uneducated, mentally stunted, socially inept, _but_ still a pervert."

"Huh?"

"Never mind." She waved it off. "My point is the life you had before with your wife is gone. Sure you miss it, sure you miss her, I understand. But that life is gone. Now it's time to build a new one."

Goku rubbed his arms, saying nothing.

"Look, I know you're hurting and in limbo. A man with your history, you have no idea where to start, or what to do. But you have people that are worth the effort to try. You have two boys that need a father they can count on – and not just on the battlefield."

"You know Momu, you've been saying a lot of stuff about me that I ain't even told you about. How do you know so much about me?" He eyed her suspiciously.

"Easy – Bulma sent me."

"Bulma?"

"That's why I said it's your lucky day. My name's Momu Speed. Stick with me, do as I say, and I'll teach you all about the 'paper stuff' that nobody ever did. I'm here to help you build a new life Son Goku."

"Um,"

"And with any luck, it will be even bigger and better than before." She pushed her chest forward and winked.

...

"I see," said Chichi.

With a fresh ice-pack on her eye, she'd listened to Bulma's tale without interruption.

However, this was not the picture her youngest had painted at all. In his stories, Goten had painted his father as nothing but a tumbling ball of fun-filled energy. He always came back from his week with him with nothing but stories of fun and adventure. There had been no hint that Goku was affected by divorce, none at all. And that was one more thing that had pushed her to move on with much more fervour and determination than she'd felt.

Now, hearing all this from Bulma, it just didn't add up. To think that Vegeta had had to intervene...It was impossible to reconcile these two versions of her ex.

"I didn't think the divorce was that hard on him. Goten always talked about all the fun they had and I-" she faltered.

"Well, you have to give him credit for keeping it together in front of his son," said Bulma. "Besides, you know how Goku is. He's always smiling, even if he's crying inside. That's just who he is."

"Maybe," she said quietly. "But at least now, I finally have closure."

"Closure? What are you talking about Chichi?"

"It's obvious isn't it? I was always the wrong partner for him!" she pressed the ice-pack harder against her eye. It was better to feel this than this never ending pain brought on by the subject of her ex.

"What are you talking about, you and Goku were always right for each other."

"Don't you see Bulma? Momu just waltzed in with her magic and her 'I'm- going-to-change-your-life' speech and just like that, in the blink of an eye, Goku was transformed into a stable and responsible adult." She looked away, tears stinging her good eye.

"Chichi,"

"While I tried and tried for years and years, and failed," her voice broke. "I could never get him interested in anything long enough to make him stay, not even his children, let alone a job."

"Chichi, it really wasn't like that. It was anything _but_ in the blink of an eye."

...

"Goku, are you in there?" she pounded on the front door. "Goku, it's Momu, I'm really pissed at you, you better open up!"

No response.

She grabbed the round doorknob and twisted – nothing. The door was locked.

Angrily, she circled to the back of the house and sure enough, Goten's bedroom window was open as usual. Cursing, she slipped off her shoes, pulled up her dress and climbed through – falling with a soft thud on his floor.

Scrambling to her feet she pulled down her dress and marched to Goku's room.

"Goku I know you're here!" she pushed the door open and marched through the door. Sure enough, a pillow filled with dark spiky hair was there to greet her. "Goku, how dare you ignore me," she flung off the covers and gasped, promptly turning around.

"Momu?" Goku rubbed his eyes sleepily. "What's going on?" he sat up.

Momu clenched her fists, "What's going on?" she swivelled around, only to turn red in the face and turn right back around. "First cover-up! You're too old to sleep in the nude you know!"

"Oh, uh...yeah...sorry." Goku grabbed a pair of training pants and slipped them on. "Chichi didn't really mind so-"

"I'm not Chichi!" she yelled. "Rule number one – I get a copy of the key to the front door—I will not climb through another window. Rule number two – always, and I mean always sleep with some underpants or something. Geez!"

Goku scratched his head.

"And rule number three – never, ever stand me up again!" she huffed.

Goku yawned, "Um, what time is it?"

"It's late! That's what time it is. We were supposed to meet in West City to head down to that interview. Do you know how embarrassing this is for me? I pulled all kinds of favours to get that pompous secretary to the Minister of Defence to agree to see us, and you—"

"Sorry."

"Sorry is not good enough Goku! This is the fifth interview we've missed!"

"Sorry."

"Urgh! You're so infuriating, here!" she pulled out a device from her purse and passed it to him.

"What's this?"

"It's another cellphone, you know, since your last one met with a tragic end. Now what are the rules Goku? Hmm?"

"Don't break it, don't wet it and always keep it charged," he mumbled.

"Great, now I have some bad news about that modelling gig,"

"The guys with the cameras?"

"Yes. They said you're gorgeous, but you definitely don't know how to make love to the camera, so that's a no."

"So what now?"

"Drawing board," she sighed.

"Oh."

...

"Well, she sounds bossy if you ask me," said Chichi.

"Look who's talking, you know better than anyone how Goku can be, Momu _has_ to be bossy."

"Still," said Chichi as she held up the mirror to inspect herself, she cringed. It was no use, though the swelling hadn't gotten any worse, it hadn't gotten any better either.

"Still what?"

"I thought you said Goku was her boss, sounds to me like she's just one of your employees running around after Goku on your behalf."

Bulma laughed. "Momu was never my employee. Capsule Corp. just used her head-hunting services from time to time. But she closed that down to focus her efforts on managing Goku."

"That doesn't make any sense." Chichi shook her head. "How can she afford to do that? How can Goku afford to pay her if he's constantly getting fired?"

"That was before," said Bulma.

"Before what?"

Blue eyes stared with disbelief. "You don't even know what Goku does for a living do you?"

Chichi flushed, "why should I? It's not as if I'm interested in what he does. I'm not his wife anymore."

"Is that so? Okay, fine then! I won't say one more word about him since you're soo disinterested! Let's get going." Bulma headed for the door. "I'm sure your grandbaby is pushing her way into the world as we speak."

"Fine! Let's go then!" said Chichi. "I didn't come all the way to West City to hear about Goku and his floozy anyway. I came here for Pan!" she huffed as she marched out behind her.

"Who?"

...

"Nicely done Videl," said the Doctor. "A healthy baby girl," he passed the slippery bundle to nurse standing by. The nurse expertly wrapped her up in a warm towel and placed her directly on Videl's chest.

"I can't believe it." Gohan peered from behind her shoulders. "It's our little girl."

Panting, Videl wiped the sweat from her brow and squinted at the pink little squealer. "Hi there, gosh you're so tiny and so loud."

The doctor laughed, as he clamped the umbilical cord in two places. "A healthy set of lungs. Don't worry, she will fatten up in no time." He held up the tools to Gohan. "Would you like to do the honours Mr. Son?"

Gohan shook his head vehemently. "No, I...don't wanna mess it up."

"Oh my, are you sure she's okay? She's screaming her little head off!"

"Well, with all that Saiyan blood in her veins, she's probably just hungry. When you're ready, the nurse will take her through the rounds. She has to be cleaned, weighed, measured and vaccinated. If you're up to it, you can feed her, then you can take her out to meet your friends and family."

Videl squinted again. "Gohan...hold...her...I think...I think...I'm gonna pass—" and she was out before she could finish that sentence.

"Videl!" Gohan exclaimed as he caught the baby. "Dr. what's happening?"

"Relax, she's just...exhausted. We'll wrap things up in here and have her transferred to her room. You go ahead with the nurse and the baby and get her sorted out okay?"

"Um, I don't know, are you sure she's okay?"

The Doctor laughed. "You have a short memory, don't you remember how long your mother slept after your brother was born?"

"I guess," he said uncertainly.

"It takes a lot out of a human body to carry a child with such strong and demanding genes, she's fine. Just take care of that little screamer over there," he smiled kindly. "Just follow the nurse and she'll take care of everything. By the time you guys are done, mommy will be ready in her room."

"Okay," said Gohan with a terrified look on his face as he held on to the screaming infant in his arms. "But are you sure the baby's okay, I don't remember Goten screaming nearly as much as this when he was born."

...

They walked down the passage in silence, each huffing with their noses in the air.

The closer they got to the lounge, the slower Chichi's footsteps became. Any minute now, they'd be back with the group and she just...there was just something nagging at her still.

"Okay fine, I want to know okay? I want know why Goten called her 'dad's new girlfriend', I want to know why she's almost always there when he goes to bed, and almost always there for breakfast and I want to know what Goku does for a living. When I asked Yamcha he...he blew me off, said it was none of my business and that he wouldn't spy." she frowned.

"Well, he's right. It is none of your business," the blue haired heiress grinned.

"Just tell me...please,"

"Why should I? So you can appease your raging jealousy?"

"That's not it at all. I have a right to know the details about a woman that spends so much time with my impressionable son! So shut up and just tell me what her story is okay?"

Bulma laughed. "Like I said before, soo transparent, but I'll tell you because you're my friend, and it would be cruel of me to let you suffer and die from jealousy over something that didn't even exist."

"I'm not jealous!"

"Sure Chichi. That's why your face was so murderous when you saw the way she was so comfortable with him. Don't think I didn't have my 3D glasses on when you first walked into the room and saw how she was touching him."

"Have you forgotten that I'm seeing someone?" she said calmly.

"How could I? You're all the dashing Astronaut ever talks about, poor guy."

"Bulma! What do you mean poor guy?"

Bulma sighed. "Chichi, you're still in love with Goku. If there was ever a doubt, that little display in the waiting room earlier certainly did away with it."

"Loving Goku was never the issue."

"I know that. But he's changed. He's grown up a lot in these five years, so hurry up and get back together already. I'm tired of seeing him suffer."

"Would you stop stalling and start talking please? I want to know what this woman's story is!"

"There is no story! She's just a control freak and Goku's a child. And after her rather unpleasant encounter in the custody of the SS, she immersed herself in his life in order to prevent another catastrophe."

"The SS as in-"

"Yep, the very one. Your ex was Captain of the SS Detainee Division."

"Goku?" Chichi shrieked, "Goku can't be trusted with something like that! I don't care how much he's changed, he'd probably just make them all promise to be good in the future and then set them free!"

Bulma burst out laughing, "Oh Chichi, you know him so well! But what actually happened was..."

...

A sweaty, hungry and furious Momu stepped out of her car. This time she was ready for the grass. She wore full platform wedges below her dishevelled dress, the thick and sturdy heels enabling her to march angrily to his door without sinking her shoes into the soil.

"Open up Goku!" she pounded on the door. "Open up so I can kill you!"

He opened the door with a greasy face almost immediately – a piece of meat dangling from his mouth.

Momu didn't waste any time, she slung her purse forward and began attacking. "I'm gonna kill you Goku! Kill you! Kill you! Kill you!"

"Whoa!" Goku swallowed the piece whole and put up his hands. "What did I do this time Momu?"

"Urgh!" she tried to shove him aside as she pushed into the house. Blowing a strand of hair away from her face she huffed: "What do you mean what did you do? You let a Level 9 prisoner escape!" she fumed, red unruly strands flaying everywhere in disarray.

"Oh, that guy. Yeah, he was innocent. So I let him out." He shrugged and closed the door behind her. "You look kind of sweaty," he sniffed around her. "and you're definitely out of breath. Did you even bath today?"

"I'll kill you!" she threw herself at him again, trying to attack with all her might.

"Whoa! Momu, Momu, calm down." Goku held her back by the shoulders, her long legs dangling a rule's worth from the ground. "Are we calm yet?"

"I'll never be calm. Do you have any idea what I've just been through with the SS? Detained! Interrogated! Frisked! Treated like some damn criminal, all because of you!"

"I don't understand," a thoughtful look spread over his face. "I'm going to put you down, but you have to promise to be calm and explain to me alright?" Goku set her down.

"I made the mistake of getting involved with you! That's what!" she shrugged away from him as soon as she was free. "Urgh! Goku, how could you? How could you just set him free? A dangerous freak like that? Can't you do anything right? Huh?"

"I had to, we had a talk. He said he didn't do it, and I believe him."

"Goku!" she shook her head and covered her face with her hands. "The SS Detainment Centre has the most dangerous criminals in the world behind its walls. Every guard in there is risking their life by just showing up for work each day, that's why they pay so much – to compensate for the high risk. The Level 9 prisoners as you well know are all...well...kinda freaks. That notorious mercenary Tao took out 3 guards with explosives from his limbs when he was first arrested, and not to mention that Monster Carrot guy - he turned four guards into carrots, and then ate them!"

"Yeah, I heard about that, it wasn't very nice of him. I really thought that guy'd changed his ways from the old days," he shrugged. "Some people are just bad."

"Yes they are! Hence Level 9! And you let that lunatic Man-Wolf out!"

"He didn't belong in there, with all the bad people."

"That's not your call to make! Your job as captain of the Detainee Squad was to protect the guards and more importantly," she all but growled, "To keep an eye on the prisoners! Stop them from causing chaos and spreading fear in the facility, stop them from escaping and stop them from killing each other. Your job was not to interact with them and set them free!"

"I know all that, and I've been doing that for the last six weeks haven't I? No guards or science guys, or prisoners have been killed or hurt when I've been on-duty. Man-Wolf didn't do anything wrong, I had to let him go."

"Breaking out a prisoner is against the law! It's a Class 2 crime you moron!" she hit him over the head.

"Aww, Momu, I didnt even break anything! I just used IT and-"

"Kami Goku, you have no clue! No clue how much trouble you caused. The only reason they haven't come to arrest you is because Bulma was smart enough to call Mr. Satan, who spoke to President Furry, who gave you a full pardon!"

"Heheheh, I guess they'll be pretty mad when I go to work on Monday then,"

"Mad? Goku don't you get it? You're never to set foot near that facility again. You're fired!"

"Aww man, again?"

"And not just that Goku, I quit!"

"Wha...Momu?" he blanched.

"Look Goku, I've been working with you for a year now and the truth is...I don't think I can do this anymore." Her shoulders slumped. "I've never been a quitter but Goku you've found a way to mess up every single job I've lined up for you, and each time I've had to run around like my feet were on fire and do some kind of damage control."

"Momu,"

"I've spent so much time on you that I've lost most of my big clients. My business has taken a big hit and let's not even talk about my love life. It's too hard...you're high maintenance and I," her voice cracked. "I just can't do it anymore. I'm sorry." She grabbed her purse and ran out before he could see the tears in her eyes.

She ran to her car and took off into the skies, wiping her face, trying not to feel like a traitor. "I guess I'm just like your wife Goku, running off when things get tough."

She turned her eyes from the road for a second to pull the glove pull out a tissue from the glove compartment, and when she turned back into the road, she screamed and hit the brakes.

But it was too late, the car hit him full-on, the impact making it spin round and round in the air. Luckily she had her seat belt on but that wasn't going to help her against the impact of the car crashing against the upcoming mountain.

Momu said a prayer and closed her eyes, but nothing happened. The car had stopped spinning by itself in mid-air. Bewildered, she opened her eyes and peered out the window, only to find Goku with a goofy apologetic face holding it up with one hand.

"Jeez Momu, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have IT'd so close to the car. It's pretty wrecked now."

"B-Ba...b-ba...but it hit you full on! I saw it!"

"Yeah, heheheh, I'm kinda tough. I could hit me a thousand times and it would still not leave a scratch, are you okay?"

To her added shock, he simply ripped the door off and pulled her out, holding her in his arms as they floated in the air. "You have a tiny scratch on your shoulder," he said worriedly.

"Goku! I mean, I know you're a martial arts expert and you're strong and well trained and everything but...but his is impossible! You caught the car with your bare hands, and you're flying and you...you...are you indestructible?"

"Um," he scratched his head. "Chichi always used to say that, but that's not true. I can be hurt."

"By what? The moon dropping on your head?" she was aiming for exaggeration.

"Nuh, moon's too small. Might get a headache though," he grinned.

"I think I'm gonna pass out now," she touched her forehead dramatically. "How can you be so strong?"

Goku eyed her quizzically, "I thought Bulma told you all that. Don't you know, me and Vegeta, we're aliens!" he said happily.

And Momu really did pass out.

...

When she came to, she was tugged snugly in her own bed, back in her apartment. She leapt out of bed and found Goku and her husband sitting in their lounge, laughing.

"Goku, I have a brilliant idea!" she made a dramatic entrance.

"Puppet, you're awake," her husband beamed as he got up to place a kiss on her cheek.

"You bet'ya!" she grinned. "Goku, we're going to Chikyuu-wood!"

"Where?"

"Goku, I'm going to turn you into the highest paid, most sort after stunt man in the film industry!"

...

Chichi blanched, as she stared at Bulma. "Goku's making movies? As a s-s...stunt man?"

"The best stunt man Chikyuu-wood has ever seen. The filmmakers are so crazy about him that Momu is actually running a bidding system for his services."

"You're joking!"

"You can't imagine how much production costs he saves. The man can make things go boom from thin air, of course they love him! You can drop him down a mountain, shoot him, or pummel him. He can fly, throw trucks or duplicate himself. Did you know he can even make himself more bulky?"

"A stunt man..." she repeated in a daze.

"Who needs the exorbitant costs of special effects when you've got a stunt man like Goku? Plus, Goku loves it. He thinks it's just one big silly game."

"I never would have-"

"Me neither," said Bulma. "Momu found him the perfect job. She runs his schedule like a military general, and she's always hovering close by to protect him."

"Protect him?"

"Well, his identity amongst other things. His career is all she has time for, and that's why they're so close. You can't spend that much time with someone without growing close." said Bulma as she turned a corner.

"I guess, I just-"

"We're here, and look...is that Gohan with the baby?"

Chichi gasped and dashed forward.

...

Gohan strolled into the waiting room with a little bundle in his arms. "Well, here she is..." he cooed, his eyes glued to his daughters little face.

Vegeta, who'd been lounging disinterestedly against the wall, was the first to peer down at the baby. "Not bad," he remarked after taking in her Ki, and then he was gone.

Mr. Satan was the next to shove his weepy face in, almost dropping a tear on the baby's face.

"She looks," sniff, "she looks just like a puny Videl Waaaah!" he wailed. "Wait a minute now Gohan, where's Videl? Where is my baby girl?" he asked.

"In her room, she's exhausted, she's asleep right now." said Gohan, a shadow of worry falling on his softened features.

"Well uh...I'm just gonna go and check on her," said the champ.

"Take this." Piccolo slipped the Champ a sensu. "Give it to Videl."

"Right, I'll give it to her right away. The thought of my little girl suffering like that...hold on Videl...Daddy's coming!" he wailed, racing to Videl's room.

"Thanks Piccolo," Gohan gave him a grateful smile.

"Anytime Kid, look after her."

A lone green finger tapped on the baby's dark head. "I'll be ready to train her when the time comes."

Gohan stiffened.

"As I thought," Piccolo chuckled. "You're just like your mother," he smirked, flinging his cape back as he slipped out.

As Piccolo made his exit, Chichi who'd been at the other end of the room with Bulma literally shoved Krilin aside to get to Gohan. Her eyes misted over as they fell on the little bundle in his arms. "Oh Pan," she reached out. "Welcome back," she took the baby from Gohan, placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Look at you Pan, so tiny," Goku was right beside her, peering down her shoulder; his eyes alight with joy as he too gazed at the little angelic face.

"Look it's me Pan, it's grandpa! Come open your eyes, come on Pan, I know you can do it."

"Look at Grandma Pan, come on," Chichi began her own little prompt.

"Um, why are you guys calling her Pan?" Gohan scratched his head, staring at his parents.

Goku and Chichi froze as they stared sheepishly at each other.

"Um...well, because, she's...she's Pan right?" Goku stared at him, bewildered.

"You mean you guys haven't named her yet?" Chichi adjusted her hold, as she too stared up at her son.

"Um, well yeah, we have. We'd thought of Pan as an option, it was on the short-list of names we picked out. But in the end we decided to call her Nawa."

"Eeey?" Goku's eyes bulged out.

"What?" Chichi shrieked. "Nawa as in...absolutely not!" she declared vehemently. "No granddaughter of mine is going to be named after some disgraced Qeruxian harlot!"

"Mom!" exclaimed Gohan, utterly shocked. "I thought you liked Nawa, and you know she was innocent of those charges. Videl and I like Nawa. That's her name." he said with finality.

Chichi would normally argue, bully or threaten until she got her way. But as things were, her relationship with Gohan was still a bit shaky, starting a fight with him over then name of his daughter didn't seem ideal. She sent a pleading look in Goku's direction. "Um...Goku, can I see you at the corner please."

Gohan stared after them, bewildered as they hurried to a corner, whispering in hushed tones.

"Goku," she whispered. "What are we going to do? I know it's just a name but..." her eyes stared down at the baby. "She's Pan, just look at her little face. She should have the right name."

Goku stared down at the familiar face of his granddaughter. "It would be kinda weird to call her Nawa," he scratched his head.

"Only to us though," Chichi sighed. "We're the only ones who remember her real name. It would feel perfectly natural to everyone else. Maybe it's selfish of me," desperate eyes turned up at him. "It's just a name at the end of the day...I guess I could get used to Nawa." she cringed.

"Hey," Goku tipped her chin, eyes bright and warm. "This is our little Pan. Leave it to me," he said.

Then he grinned.

...

The piercing cries of a baby filled the 439 area as a panicked Gohan and Videl paced back and forth, taking turns to try and calm the screamer down.

"Gohan you're the experienced one, do something!"

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" he attempted rocking the baby in a different way, but she only screamed louder, her face growing frighteningly red. "Hush little Nawa don't you cry, daddy's gone find you a dragonball, and if that dragonball-"

"Gohan it's not working, here, let me try." She took the baby from his arms.

"Rock-A-Bye baby, on a tree top, when the wind blo-"

"Not working hon, she's getting worse. Try feeding her again, maybe she's hungry." urged Gohan.

"I just fed her, you wanna feel them," she cupped her breasts. "They're totally empty, there's nothing left!" she said hysterically.

"Okay, okay," Gohan cradled the baby on his arm. "Hush little Nawa, don't you cry-"

"Wah! Waahhh! Waah!"

"That's it Gohan something has to be wrong with her. I'm calling the Doctor," Videl rushed to the phone.

"Whoa!" said Goku as he entered the baby's room. "What's going on in here?" he cooed, easily taking the wailing baby from Gohan's arms.

"Something's wrong Goku! She won't stop crying," said Videl, on the verge of crying herself.

"Aww, is that true Pan? Are you kicking up a fuss in here?" he shifted the baby, placing her at an angle on his arm. With his other hand, he slipped a finger inside the tightly wrapped blanket and placed it behind her neck, pushing out a small bubble of soothing Ki without anyone noticing. This was something he'd discovered weeks after her first birth over fifty years ago. As the bubbles worked their magic against her neck and down her back, the baby immediately stopped crying, making a content, curdling sound.

"Dad," said Gohan, "I already told you, her name is-" he blinked, "s-she...she stopped crying," he stared, amazed.

"Oh, look Pan, here comes grandma." Goku turned his arm so the baby was facing the door. "Say hi grandma, look at me! Look at me!"

Chichi entered the nursery and closed the door softly behind her. "Hi Pan, did you miss me? Aww, you did didn't you? I just went to change into some comfortable clothes, yes I did! Yes I did!"

"Mom, dad, you guys need to stop calling her that. Her name is Nawa." said Gohan with a frown.

Goku and Chichi shared a look.

"I think she should decide for herself like you did Son, don't you think?" asked Goku.

"What are you talking about?"

"Have you forgotten how you ended up with the name Gohan?"

"Oh hush Goku, he was just a baby, of course he doesn't remember," said Chichi.

"Yeah, Dad. I've heard the story a million times but I definitely don't remember that. Thank goodness though, being called Einstein would have really sucked."

"Huh...weird that you don't remember," said Goku. "Now that I remember my past, I remember everything, even the time I spent swimming around in my Ma's tummy."

"W-Wha...?" Chichi stared wide eyed. "Goku! Tell me you're joking!"

"Hehehe, no I'm not. It's the truth. I guess it's a Saiyan thing. "

"Um, that sounds kinda creepy dad," said Gohan. "But I guess pure bloods must develop faster than us then. I guess they'd have to, after all, they did send new born babies to purge." he cringed as he looked at his daughter.

"Yeah, I have to agree, that's just creepy," said Videl. "But I can't believe it Goku, you're such a natural. She stopped crying just like that. Is she," she peered down at where the baby lay nice and snug on Goku's arm. "Is she...smiling?"

"That's because I used the right name," said Goku.

"Don't be silly dad, she doesn't know the difference."

"I'm not so sure Son, you knew the difference. Let's see what she has to say about the two names shall we?"

Gohan rolled his eyes, "fine," he said, peering down at the baby. "Hi Nawa, hi little Na-"

Goku slyly stopped pushing the bubble of Ki at the baby's neck and in a fit of fury the angelic little face contorted horribly, breaking into a fit of screams.

"Wha..." Gohan could hardly believe it. "T-That's impossible."

"Shh, there, there Pan," soothed Goku, pushing the bubble back behind the baby's neck. "That's okay Pan. They won't call you that ugly 'ol name anymore, will you guys?"

"That can't be right," said Videl. "Nawa, hi Nawa, mommy's little Nawa!" she waved at the baby.

"Waah! Wahhhh! Waaah!" she wailed with a trembling little lip.

"Hush Pan, it's okay," grandma Chichi cooed. "You like Pan, don't you. Aww, what a good little Pan," she smiled as the baby settled down.

"I," Videl was speechless. "You really don't like Nawa?" she stared down sadly.

"Waaah! Waah!" little hands tried to push out of the blanket in angry little fists.

"Okay, okay, Mommy's sorry, it's Pan, it's Pan." she said in a panic and watched in wonder as the baby curdled in peace.

"I guess, she likes Pan," Gohan stared bewildered.

"Yeah," whispered a stunned Videl.

Goku grinned, making a thumbs-up in Chichi's direction.

In turn, Chichi tried to hold her smile in, but when he winked, a flood of warmth washed over her face.

...

As soon as they stepped outside the house, Chichi couldn't help it; she burst out and released the laughter she'd been holding since the baby naming.

"Oh my Kami Goku! I can't believe it! It actually worked!" Chichi laughed, clutching her sides, all her facial muscles contracted.

"Shhh! Chichi," scolded Goku as he too broke out, even though he was trying to keep it quiet. "They'll hear us, come on!" he grabbed her hand and pulled her along as he took a quick sprint towards the forest.

As soon as they were far enough from Gohan and Videl's house, Goku fully gave in. "Pahahahah! Did you see their faces Chi?" he was laughing so hard that his air intake had become irregular, making him gasp.

"I know! I know!" Chichi let it out in guffaws."It was priceless!" she placed her hand against a nearby tree for support and took a much needed lungful of breath. "It was so bad of us to trick them like that though," she said.

"Heh heh maybe," said Goku. "But it was worth it, now Pan will have the right name."

"Yeah," she grinned. "You did great Goku, thank you." she smiled at him.

"Nuh, it was nothing," he rubbed his elbow uncomfortably. "I already know all the thing she likes, so it was easy." he added modestly.

"You always had a way with her," she said, her smile so warm and genuine, it was impossible not to be caught up in it.

"Nuh, I was just okay, nothing compared to grandma and her kitchen full of nice smells and goodies. She used to race across to our house every morning, remember?"

"Oh, like I was the main attraction? If I remember correctly, it was perching on her grandpa's shoulder while he told outrageous stories that she couldn't get enough off."

"You were always the main attraction for me Chi," he brushed a stray hair from her face. "and after all this time, nothing's changed huh?" he said, a sadness that hadn't been there for a while finally crawling out to the surface.

Chichi didn't understand when it was that the air around had suddenly changed, but it had. She was happily laughing a minute ago, but now she was just too aware of how isolated they were. It was just the two of them in the middle of the woods and it brought back too many memories.

"Chi," he brushed her cheek and pressed his forehead against hers, making her heart jump fearfully.

"Goku," she backed away. "Don't...please," she didn't want to ruin the carefree moment they were having but if he was going to get like this then...

He stared at her for a while, as if he was in some kind of debate, but then something rustled in the bushes behind her and Chichi promptly turned around ready to defend herself against the intruder.

Her eyes grew large as she spotted it. "No way!" she exclaimed, turning to her ex.

Goku clutched his sides and stared laughing, "Oh man Chi, you think it's her?" he stared at the intruder. "You think she's still trying to make it to the water?" he said, and then broke out into another fit of laughter.

"Oh you!" she hit him playfully, struggling to keep her own laughter in. "Don't be silly Goku, it's been what..." she counted on her fingers. "over twenty years if we go by the wish. Come on, she was slow but not that slow," she grinned, shaking her head at his foolishness.

She followed the painfully slow movements of the larger than life tortoise trampling down on the blades of grass it moved at a snail's pace down the path, fighting the urge to laugh.

This was the problem right here, she realized. Being alone with him like this made it too easy, just too easy to forget their situation. They were supposed to be two people who hadn't seen or spoken to each other in over four years, and yet...just like that, they'd fallen into another nice and cosy little moment. This would not do, this would not do at all.

She turned back in his direction ready to make up an excuse about why she had to suddenly leave, but she found herself struck dumb by the pureness and warmth of the joy she read in his eyes.

"Takes us way back though, huh?" warm eyes bored into her.

"Yeah," she admitted. "It does."

...

As the young married couple treaded through the forest, exploring their surroundings, Goku walked ahead so he could trample the overgrown vegetation with his weighted boots. This way a somewhat smooth path was cleared for his young wife trailing behind. The weighted boots were not to be trifled with, they were so heavy they made everything that fell beneath them stay.

"It just doesn't make any sense," said Goku rather thoughtfully, "why does it only happen to you then?"

"It doesn't Goku," said Chichi "It happens to every girl after they reach a certain age, as long as they're not infertile or anything, it will happen if they...um...you know..." she blushed.

"Infertile? What's that?" he turned around to face her.

"It's like, um...it's like," she bit her lip in that certain way that she did when she had to think carefully in order to give him an explanation.

Goku regarded her warmly. This was one of the things he liked most about this new wife of his. She was gentle and patient with him. Unless he was breaking some rule that she'd already explained, instead of calling him 'stupid' or saying 'just forget it Goku, you'll never get it', or other such things that other people called him, Chichi always tried to find the right words to put across the concepts he was never taught.

"It's like," she continued her search for the right words. "It's like...when the parts that make and grow a baby are not the way they are supposed to be, so they don't work the way they're supposed to work."

"Like how?"

"Like...you know how some people can't see even though they have eyes just like everyone else?"

"Uh yeah, blind people right?"

"Yeah, it's something like that, accept it happens in here," she patted the part of her body where she'd said a baby was growing.

"Oh, so you're saying that Bulma's kinda blind in her stomach?" He stopped and turned worried eyes at her.

"Not stomach, womb," she corrected, but then she did a double take. "Wait Goku, did you just say Bulma? What has infertility got to do with Bulma?"

"Well," he scratched his head thoughtfully. "Now that I understand about sex, I can think of a few times that I saw Bulma and Yamcha doing it. So like you, she should have grown a baby there right?"

"Y-You...you saw them?" Her eyes turned into horrified swirls, "when they were..." she couldn't even say it he realized. Her eyes were as wide as the day he'd discovered that Bulma had no balls.

"Sure! Lot'sa times! Just didn't know what it was. The first time it happened, we were all staying at Bulma's house on our way back from an adventure. I heard some weird sounds in the middle of the night and you know my ears have always been able to pick up those kinda things. I was a bit worried for Bulma so I went to check on her, you know, just to make sure everything was fine. And yeah," he grinned. "They were just there you know, Bulma was naked with her legs wrapped around Yamcha's waist and Yamcha was-"

"No! Goku! Don't tell me! Don't tell me!" She waved her hands frantically.

"Huh?"

"Well Goku," she blushed, "it's...um...kinda inappropriate." she said gently.

"It is?"

"Yes dear, it's inappropriate to look when people are doing that okay? You have to promise to never do something like that again."

"Why not?"

"Um, well Goku, it's ...because it's a private thing, and one must never be seen when doing that."

"But...but the people in the magazines even take pictures of it...and..._we_ let the animals look at us all the time, even this morning when we did it against the barrel, and the other day when we discovered that little valley remember, there were-"

"Um yes," she blushed even deeper, "we should really try to keep it inside the house, and never mind those silly magazines Goku." A small frown made a brief stop on her face but quickly disappeared.

"The animals don't really count, I'm talking about people. You must promise to never look at other people when they do that, or talk to other people about doing it okay?" she touched his arm lightly.

"Promise?"

He was confused, he didn't really see why not, but: "If you say so Chi, sure I promise." he agreed.

How could he not though? Her face was so lovely and flushed; her eyes all sparkly as she looked up at him in shyness and adoration all in one go. He was the only person to ever look at him quiet like this, like he was the most wonderful person in the world. It always made him feel all powerful and silly all in one go. It was an addictive feeling, one he just knew he'd never get enough of - just like everything else he'd discovered about her in these four months of marriage.

"I promise not to look or talk about it, but maybe we should use the dragonballs to fix Bulma's problem."

A nervous laugh, "Um Goku, I'm sure Bulma's fine. Um," she bit her lip and looked at her hands.

He had also come to know this side of her. She always looked like this when she was uncertain or worried.

This made him worry; he didn't like it when she worried.

"Um, see Goku," she began almost timidly, "sometimes, well...sometimes when people don't want to be parents, they can use certain things to prevent you know...pregnancy."

"Really? How would they do that? I thought all the stuff goes inside for a swimming competition?"

"Well, yes it does, normally. So if you prevented the stuff from going inside, then you wouldn't have swimmers to compete in the first place. No swimmers equals no race and no winner."

"Oh," he said thoughtfully. "I guess I understand. So just pull out before it goes phkk, makes sense." he nodded.

Chichi blushed.

"But where's the fun in that? Hehehh, I like that there's a competition in there, and that this baby," he placed his hand against her flat stomach, "hehheh, this baby is the winner!"

Chichi shook her head, "Well that's one method Goku, but it doesn't always work. Most people just use condoms or pills or whatever."

"What are those?"

"It will be better to show you, just remind me when we get home okay?"

"You got that stuff at home?"

"Um," she bit her lip again, "yeah, I...when I realized that you didn't have any on our honeymoon, I bought some at the Pharmacy in the hotel the next day. I was gonna talk to you about it, you know...since I'd explained about sex, I knew I had to explain about some of the consequences too, but when I came back..."

"Oh yeah, hehehheh," he wrapped his hands around her waist, "I tackled you to the bed, didn't I?" He grinned down at her.

"Yes, I barely made it through the door," she smiled, those cheeks just getting warmer and rosier.

"You know," he pressed his forehead against hers, "I think I might just tackle you again,"

Her eyes widened in alarm, "Son Goku if you think I'm gonna let you-"

"Shhh," his eyes darted suddenly. "Did you here that?" He said cautiously, instinctively manuevering them so she was standing behind him.

"Uh...no," she said. "What did you...Oh my gosh Goku it's huge!" she cried as she dove out of the way.

It was the biggest tortoise she'd ever seen, if there was such a thing as a tortoise dinasour, surely this would be it. But as it turns out, there was no need to dive at all, the thing was moving so slowly, all it had done since they'd spotted it was lift one front leg.

"Yoohoo! Hello there! Hi!" Goku stood in front of it and waved, "I'm Goku, what's your name?"

Chichi hissed at him from the bushes,"Goku! Get out of its way! If that giant foot stomps you you're dead!"

Goku laughed, "Aww, come on Chi, I just wanted to check if it can talk like Turtle. Hey, maybe if it's a girl, it can be his wife!"

"It's not a talking turtle Goku, honestly! It's actually not a turtle at all, it's a tortoise. Now, come, get out of its path. That foot is huge!

"Aww, Chi. I could do a thousand Kamehahas's before she made a land on me, she's so slow!"

"Maybe," she agreed, watching its movements. We should get out of its way and continue exploring."

"I got a better idea," he turned mischievous eyes at her, and the next thing she knew she was being hauled into the air. "Let's ride it!" he exclaimed as he settled them both atop the hard shell.

"Goku, are you crazy! It's like being on a rock mountain up here!"

"Pahahahah!" he laughed, pointing at its foot. "Look Chichi, she still hasn't made one step. Brace yourself; this is going to be one long ride."

"You're so irresponsible Goku, honestly!" she fidgeted.

"Aww, come on," he snaked his arms around her. "It's nice up here, we can see all the way down...oh look! She must be heading to that watering hole. There's two others like her down there," he pointed.

"Amazing!" she marvelled as she took in the sight of the tortoises gathered around the water. They were big, but not as big as this one. She regretted that she didn't have a camera; it would have been nice to take some pictures.

She sighed, the sun falling on her already warm cheeks. She was so blessed to live in such a wondrous place.

"Oh alright, let's ride her to the water. I'm sure those are her friends waiting down there." she smiled softly at her husband excited husbad as she reclined into his chest.

Goku grinned down at her, and with childish glee, he began to give the hard shell of the tortoise a few gentle smacks, urging it on as he continually broke into laughter at how slow it was moving.

"You can do it Tortoise, come on, faster, faster," then he'd just laugh as they counted the seconds it took for the giant to pick up each leg, let alone move.

"Come on, you can do it, hurry before they finish all the water!"

Chichi giggled, Goku was really just a big goofy child. Clueless as he was about most things, she had an inkling that that childish energy would make for a good father. She patted her stomach, wondering if it will be a boy or a girl.

And as Goku continued to take turns between nuzzling her and urging their ride, Chichi realized that more than the forest and all the wondrous secrets it had to offer, what was even more amazing was the man holding her in his arms.

Life was perfect in Mt. Paouzu, atop the hard shell of a tortoise.

...

"That was a good day," she smiled in remembrance.

"It sure was," Goku agreed. "Even though she never quite made it to the watering hole," he grinned. "Let's steal Pan and take her on a ride!" his eyes lit up.

Chichi shook her head. "No, Goku, she's barely a day old!"

"Yeah, guess you're right, tomorrow then," he grinned.

"You big idiot," she fumbled about and picked up a handful of soil and tossed it at him. "She'll still be too young tomorrow."

Goku chuckled.

She had to squint just so now, so her vision wouldn't be blurred. Her eye was starting to ache, a clear indication that the numbing and pain killing properties of the anti-inflammatory cream Yamcha had applied earlier were finally starting to wear off. She made a few rapid uncomfortable blinks and then cringed when it really stung.

Goku frowned, and for the third time in one day, he touched her face. "Chi, you're in pain. Let me take you to Dende, it will just be a sec."

"You have to stop doing that," she backed away.

"Doing what?"

"Goku," she exhaled. "You just keep touching me, and you should try not to."

"Oh," a pained expression of understanding flittered across his face like a man being led to his execution. "I'm sorry," he dipped his head and stared at his boots. "I guess Sekei is the only one allowed to touch you now huh?" His face contorted into various stricken shapes.

Chichis' breath hitched, "I didn't realize that-"

"That I knew?" he pulled his face up to look at her. There was a flicker of something there that terrified her. It was hot and raw and probably powerful enough to snuff out the sun. "I've known for a while now." His voice had dropped an octave.

"I see."

"Are you gonna marry him?" he blurted.

"Goku, that's really not-"

"Ugh," he suddenly clutched his head and sank to his knees. "Ughh!"

"Goku?"

"Ahhhh!" he closed his eyes and pressed his palms harder against his temples as he began to howl like a wild animal in pain.

"Goku!" Chichi panicked as she tried to rush to his side. "Goku what's wrong?" she cried, trying to reach him.

But the ground and the trees and the rocks and the whole world began to shake beneath her feet as untamed winds and bolts whipped unchecked around him. Large cracks and gorges broke out from beneath her feet and it was all Chichi could do just to try to keep her balance.

"Goku what's wrong? Goku!" she struggled against the currents coming from him, trying her best to not be blown away. "Goku! Can you hear me? Goku!

But either he couldn't hear her or he didn't want to answer her, for Goku kept screaming as he clutched his head, shaking and pounding it against the dirt like a mad man possessed.

"Goku!" the spot she was on gave way and Chichi found herself dropping rapidly as she crashed into walls of dirt and rocks and roots on her way down to a dark abyss.

"Goku!"

...

_**That's the chapter you guys. I hope you managed to get through it, I know it was a little longer than usual. Thoughts? Comments? Please let me know how it's going so far.**_


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